Her Protector
by harukaze
Summary: In the light of Michiru's father's shooting, a bodyguard is appointed to her. AU H
1. Taking down a Billionaire

Chapter 1: Taking down a Billionaire

In an eerily dark office, a large, flat screen, silver television monitor flickered open to the local news channel.

"This just in, no more than ten minutes ago Kaioh Akira, President of Tech World Enterprise, was shot upon entering Tokyo Tower. A celebration for the joining of TWE and major competitor Sony was under way inside the Tower and as President Kaioh and his entourage were nearing the entrance, a sniper, now believed to have hidden in one of the nearby hotels fired and successfully shot President Kaioh down. He was immediately taken to Ogikubo Hospital where his condition is still unknown. We'll give new information on the hour every hour regarding Kaioh-san's condition. Until then, this is Shuko Maya reporting for SNCW News Four."

"Thank you Shuko-san. For those of you just tuning in—

The television shortly cut off as a tall, dark figure entered the already dim office. Simultaneously, the executive chair in front of the TV swiveled away from it and towards a nearby office desk where the only source of light in the room, a reading lamp, was situated at the corner of the desk. Around the desk were cluttered pens, papers, and mundane things a work room would have. Most notably though was a silver Desert Eagle handgun atop a pile of papers comfortably near the right hand of the built, middle aged man behind the desk.

A smirk landed on his hard features as he got up from the black leather chair, took an envelope from the top of the desk, and walked, or moreover, limped to the tall man who'd just walked in.

"I must say," he began in a gruff voice, the smirk never leaving his mouth. "I didn't think you could do it at first. Not that I don't trust in your abilities or anything, but… this is a first for you isn't it?"

"I'd do anything to get this guy," was the short reply from the figure propped upon the doorway.

The man laughed, "That's just like you…no one messes with family right?"

He nodded and stretched his right hand forward. The built man twirled the white envelope in his fingers before properly giving it to the other, patiently waiting man.

"Your payment, for a job well done." The young man nodded, took the envelope and without even chancing a glance as to what's inside, turned around and left.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

Soft classical music wafted around the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall where another sold out crowd listened to an aspiring, rising classical musician.

"Kaioh Michiru?" A man sitting on one of the balcony seats asked with a hint of amazement and jealousy in his voice. "Kaioh, as in—

"The one and only," an old woman next to him interrupted. She placed the opera binoculars over her eyes to take a better look at the girl currently standing on the center of the stage, hypnotizing everyone with ease, grace, and fluidity with every motion she made with her violin. "Kaioh, as in Kaioh Akira. That's her father, owner of TWE. It just shows how talented the whole family is. Her father's a rich businessman, her mother's a successful lawyer, and their only daughter, an all around overachiever. Not only can she play the violin mind you, she also knows how to paint. Not also a bad swimmer from the rumors I've heard. The Kaioh name by itself floats on talent."

"Mm," the man nodded in agreement and closed his eyes to savor the composition Kaioh Michiru had written. "And she's only seventeen."

As the piece dwindled to the end, the crowd roared their approval sending Michiru crashing back to reality. She slowly opened her blue eyes, a soft smile gracing her pink hued lips. She carefully brought her violin to her side and tucked her long, curly aquamarine tresses behind her ear with her dainty fingers, her alabaster arm glowing under the glare of the spotlights. Bowing politely, she smiled even wider as a man from backstage walked over to the stage to present her an expensively arranged bouquet of assorted flowers.

In the middle of this interaction, her eyes caught a glimpse of a tall man in the very right side of the first row seats near the entranceway to the backstage area. His built, muscular body was framed by a three piece black suit and a blood red tie adorned tightly around his neck. He easily towered over the nearest spectators still, standing and clapping for her, for he was at least a feet taller than the tallest person in the building presently. His eyes were covered by rectangular shaped sunglasses and his gelled back black hair glinted from the lighting. He looked almost like all the sharply dressed men in the room, only Michiru could see the little pin on the left side of his suit's collar that really told her who she already knew him to be. The pin held the emblem of the Japanese flag and the letters TWE engraved in gold in the red circular area where the sun is depicted.

_What are father's men doing here?_

A frown etched her beautiful face, but disappeared as soon as it came just as the man handed her the bouquet. She bowed a final time to the crowd now giving her standing ovations and walked out of the stage with her white silky dress trailing after her and the man who gave her the flowers at her side. The first thing she noticed as she walked away from the prying eyes of her league of fans didn't make her mood any lighter.

"Saiki-kun, may I ask what you're doing here?" her soft, yet commanding voice asked.

Saiki Kensuke sighed, but nevertheless smiled. "Kaioh-san, I'm sorry to disturb you at such an hour and event, but your presence is needed at the Kaioh Estate."

"It can wait 'til tomorrow," Michiru replied, her voice leaving no room for dispute.

Saiki scratched his black, gelled-spiked hair and straightened his black suit. "I'm sorry Kaioh-san, but it's an emergency. I really can't let you go tonight until I know you are headed to the estate."

"Then I will go," Michiru stated coldly as she placed her Stradivarius in her violin case, "after the charity event."

"Kaioh-san—

"If you won't let me go, then tell me what it is my father needs. Otherwise, I will not go with you."

If she's been counting correctly, this was the third time this month alone that Michiru had, had to deal with her father's bodyguards. The first was at school and the second, during a meeting with a friend. Ever since she's started living on her own, her father had continually kept tabs on the things she does, who she does what with, and why. Michiru was known as a patient and understanding girl. The first couple of times, she's dismissed them and curtly spoke to her father about how much she valued her privacy and independence. Apparently, that in itself wasn't enough, so unsurprisingly her patience and understanding had dwindled to an all time minimum.

"Please, Kaioh-san, I—

"Saiki, we have to hurry."

Michiru looked over Saiki's shoulder and saw the man she saw earlier; he was even taller up close. Nevertheless, she gave him an uncaring look and glared back at Saiki, a sign telling him to speak up or leave.

"S-something happened to Kaioh-sama during the celebratory party." His tone was clipped, brisk, and business like, and Michiru didn't like it at all.

Catching on to the panic in his voice behind the seemingly calm exterior, Michiru gulped down a growing panic within herself. "What? What happened to him?"

"We have the limo waiting outside. I'll explain everything there."

Michiru nodded solemnly and grabbed her violin case, the forgotten flowers lying abandoned on a nearby, steel folding chair.

She thought about the first few times that her father had made his men check up on her. In all of the cases, none of them ever came up to actually converse with her or show even the slightest hint that they were checking up on her. Her good intuition just outmatched all of their spying ability, which technically was the main reason why she knew she was being followed all those times. Furthermore, Saiki Kensuke was one of her father's own bodyguards. Just the fact that he went from one of the head bodyguards to a messenger boy was daunting. Something was definitely wrong.

As they stepped out of the concert hall and into the cold parking lot and sparkling moon light, Michiru felt the bigger bodyguard from earlier instantaneously step in front of her blocking her from any frontal view or movement until he himself would choose to move. Simultaneously, Saiki moved directly behind her and held her protectively by the waist.

She nervously looked around feeling the air get colder, more sinister. Despite the fact that two of her father's best bodyguards were closer to her than any human contact she's ever felt aside from her immediate family, she didn't feel any safer. In retrospect, their darting eyes and tense bodies only made her feel even more anxious.

In the closest parking spot in front of the concert hall stood a shiny black stretch limousine, no doubt the one Saiki had told her about. They slowly walked to it, their feet synchronized with one another. Only when she safely got inside the limo did Michiru's heart rate begin to go back to normal. There were two other bodyguards inside the limo and both sat next to her once she sat in the middle seat. Saiki and the other guard sat in front of them, continuously looking out the window towards waiting darkness. When the limo began moving, Saiki finally stopped looking apprehensively outside and focused on her once again.

"What's going on?" Michiru asked, worry clearly evident on her otherwise flawless face. She unconsciously picked on her blue silk dress, smoothing it over and wrinkling it again.

"As you know," Saiki began, "There was to be a celebratory party in the Tokyo Tower tonight—

"What about Otou-san?" Michiru cut off, grief stricken. She held her balled fist over her heart and stared down at him. "What happened? I don't care about the details. Just tell me what happened to him!"

Saiki gulped and nodded, his black brows furrowing deeply. "Your father has been shot." He had no better way of cushioning it.

Michiru's blue eyes widened in shock as her face paled and once again, the growing feeling of feeling vulnerability she felt outside came back.

Although her outward appearance seemed just slightly off, the inside of her mind wasn't as composed. _No…No! That-that can't be right… He's my father! It's not possible for him to get hurt…he won't let anyone…_

Yet she knew that all Saiki has said had been true. His morose features, saddened eyes. They spoke for him. She felt her heart clench tightly as the damned tears from her eyes finally broke through and streamed down her cheeks.

"No…"

Somehow, her small voice found a way to speak as her body crumbled off of the limo seat and fell into the rumbling car floor unceremoniously. She didn't care who saw or what the bodyguards thought of her, the always seemingly perfect, elegant, and refined girl. The only thing that crossed her mind were flashes of her father's kind face, his warm smile, and the twinkling his eyes gave when he'd spoil her and her mother was imploring him what he's done this time. A choked sob escaped from her lips as she felt a warm hand envelop her small shaking shoulders. She looked up from her tear drenched eyes in surprise into hazel ones that were staring at her levelly.

"Kaioh-san," Saiki called, his voice soft and caring. "Your father's alright."

Michiru's eyes widened in shock and hope as she silently begged him to continue regardless if what he's saying would give her false hope.

"I was with him when it happened," Saiki continued, keeping his eyes even with hers. "We were about to go through the entrance when he got a phone call. I believe it was from Vice President Morimoto. He-he just stopped walking for ten seconds to talk to him, and I don't know what happened. It was just so fast. One second he's sharing a joke with Morimoto-sama and the next second, he was down on the ground in pain…"

Michiru sniffed and waited for his continuation.

"I noticed the bullet hole fixed on his left upper shoulder blade. It was about an inch or so away from his clavicle and very far from any of his vital organs. We lucked out tonight. The sniper either had very bad aim or the huge amount of guards around Kaioh-sama couldn't give him the opportunity to shoot for the spot he wanted."

"What about blood loss?" Michiru cried out. She wanted to be completely sure that her father was as safe as the bodyguard in front of her claimed him to be. She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief he quickly handed out and waited for his answer.

"We made complete sure that he was taken to the nearest and best hospital. We also contacted Aoyama-Sensei. Blood loss doesn't seem to be a problem. Kaioh-sama actually sent us to get you and your mother fearing more for your lives than his."

Michiru smiled, laden with relief. That was so like her father, to not care about his current condition and care more of her and her mother's well being. She looked up at Saiki shortly and smiled gratefully, her eyes sparkling in appreciation. "Thank you…Kensuke-kun."

Saiki's smile widened into a grin as he realized that Kaioh Michiru had just called him by his first name. Lost in thoughts of replaying the way the beautiful girl had just called him, he finally noticed that the limo had stopped when he felt Muro, the other bodyguard, tapping his shoulders. When he looked up from his kneeling position, he saw a faint blush creeping on Michiru's cheeks as she was getting out of the limo following the other bodyguard that had seated next to the window.

"Shouldn't we be following them?" Muro's gruff voice asked from behind him.

Saiki's body went rigid as his bodyguard mode was immediately turned on again. He and Muro got out of the limo and once again protected Michiru in the same way they did when they came out of the concert hall, the two extra bodyguards walking beside her.

When they entered the emergency wing of Ogikubo Hospital, Michiru quickly caught sight of her mother, broke free from her bodyguards and ran to her. Kaioh Yuriko, when she saw Michiru, followed suit and both met in the middle of the carpeted, white hall, crying, hugging, and comforting one another. The elder Kaioh led Michiru by the waiting room where Kaioh Akira's entourage waited in deep silence and sat next to her on two vacant seats.

"How long has Otou-san been in there?" Michiru asked as she gave her mother a look over.

Yuriko's thirty-seven year old face normally had the feel and look of someone ten years younger, but this night, much to Michiru's chagrin, she looked much older than her perceived age. Her dark blue hair, much like Michiru's, cascaded down to her shoulders, but the normally hidden wrinkles on her forehead and crow's feet around her eyes were clear to see. Her sparkling deep blue eyes were bloodshot from all the crying and in the light of the situation, Michiru felt as if she saw a ton of weights sitting on her mother's shoulders. She unconsciously gathered her mother and embraced her tightly. Yuriko responded in a dependent manner.

"Kaioh-sama has been in for about forty five minutes," one of the bodyguards answered her shortly.

A flurry of footsteps echoed down the hall and in about ten seconds, a distressed Vice President Morimoto Kenro appeared in the doorway of the waiting room, ten to fifteen bodyguards surrounding him. He easily looked like one of them with a built, tall figure and broad shoulders and a black suit adorning his body luxuriously. His very short jet black hair was in disarray, sticking out in places it wouldn't normally be in and a displeased frown was evident on the sour look on his face.

"Kenro Oji-san," Michiru greeted and she and Yuriko got up from their seat only to be wholeheartedly embraced by the burly man.

"How's Akira doing?" he asked, his usual businessman tone gone and in its place, the compassionate and caring voice Michiru had known ever since she's met him.

"We don't know of his condition as of yet," Yuriko answered heavily.

Kenro frowned and hugged both of them tighter.

As if on cue, the Kaioh family doctor, Dr. Aoyama appeared with a smile upon his old, wrinkly face. That alone gave each person in the room a sigh of relief.

"How's Akira doing, Aoyama-sensei?" Yuriko asked, breaking the silence.

"Kaioh-san, I'm glad to say, is in stable condition," Dr. Aoyama replied.

Simultaneously, most people present who held their breath at the question, released it upon getting the answer.

"He was shot along his upper shoulder line. The bullet traveled atop the clavicle and shoulder blade, missing the bones completely. None of the vital tendons or tissues were harmed either. The extent of his injuries is very far from life threatening and the bullet actually went through his shoulder so there was no bullet to dislodge. We fixed the wound so it wouldn't bleed as much and stitched his skin together to take care of the hole the bullet made upon impact.

"Seeing that this is a public hospital, I'll be clearing Kaioh-san tomorrow and take further care of him, if necessary, in your residence, where we all know, is a much safer place. I understand that this is a very shady time for your whole family and Kaioh-san's company as well. I've spoken to the director of the hospital and he's allowed as many people as you wish to stay in the perimeter of Kaioh-san's room as well as the inside. He's still under the influence of the sleeping drug we gave him during surgery, so he's still asleep. Other than that, you're free to go and see him."

"Thank you." With a last bow of gratitude, Michiru and her mother walked to Akira's room while Kenro brought the whole unit of bodyguards together to tell them how the shifts will change and who'll be staying with which member of the family for the night.

As Michiru accompanied her mother to her father's room, she couldn't help, but feel vulnerable. Really vulnerable. Her father always struck her as someone who was invincible, untouchable. But that belief was shattered so easily with one bullet. If this maniac trying to get her father could crumple him so easily, what of everyone else? She was scared of her well being, but was even more terrified of the well-being of who she considered family.

When her mother opened the door to the spacious white painted room, Michiru felt her breath catch in her throat. Before her eyes, Kaioh Akira the most powerful man in TWE and the Japanese economy as a whole, laid in a supine position across a clean bed, white sheets covering him from his waist down. His upper body was bare and triangular white gauze was wrapped around his shoulder tightly. His aquamarine, perfectly-sculpted-every-morning hair looked grey from the hospital's bright lighting and the trace of power one can see surging through his piercing blue eyes was gone, replaced by eyelids that refused to open. His shallow breathing was weaker than average; the rise and fall of his chest a little slower and aged as he inhaled and exhaled. A beeping noise emitted every two seconds in a machine next to his bed providing the only real sound coming from the otherwise empty and lifeless room.

Yuriko pulled a chair beside her husband as Michiru pushed back some of his aqua locks and kissed him on his warm cheeks. She heard her mother softly speaking to him grasping his hands in hers as she sat down on a seat at the foot of the bed. As she sat there, the stress and tension from the night's events finally washed over her. Her eyes drifted back to her father's sleeping figure as she covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. She felt a hand place over her shoulder and as she looked up, saw Kenro's grim, but smiling face.

"You seem tired Michiru-chan," he voiced his concern.

"I'm okay," she answered, but was betrayed quickly as the yawn she stifled earlier came back with a vengeance.

Kenro smiled to her as a father would to his child. "Everything's being taken care of here. I don't think your father would appreciate you not getting any sleep tonight on account of this incident."

Michiru sighed, but nevertheless nodded in agreement.

"There is a favor I'd like to ask of you though," Kenro stated as he beckoned someone from the door. Saiki walked into the room and waited to be placed on duty patiently.

"What's that Oji-san?" Michiru asked while giving Saiki a glance.

"Well, two favors actually. First, I'd like you, just for the night, to let Saiki and Muro, his partner, be your bodyguard and let them stay in close quarters with you."

Michiru's discomfort showed immediately.

"Second, I'd really, really appreciate it if you spent the night at your father's estate."

The violinist pulled her fingers to her temple and massaged the throbbing ache away. She was about to object wholeheartedly when she caught sight of her father's figure on the too white sheets. She knew her godfather was doing this only because of safety reasons, so slowly, just to let him know that she didn't like the idea, she nodded in cooperation.

Kenro smiled at his goddaughter and hugged her.

"Do you know…who could've done this?" she asked giving him an inquiring look.

He only shook his head, a determined look washing over an angry one. "Whoever it is, when I find him, I'll dispose of him myself."

She could only give a nod at her godfather's grim words.

After sharing a couple more seconds with him, she walked to her mother, debriefed her of her plans, said her goodnight with a kiss, and gave another kiss to her unresponsive father as well. As she walked over to Saiki, she looked back at her godfather walking to her mother and frowned.

"Oji-san?" she called.

Kenro looked at her and sat down on her seat.

"What's wrong with your leg? You seem to be limping."

He gave a boyish smile and shrugged. "Sprained it when I was going down some stairs."

Michiru stifled a laugh, bowed a final time, and left with Saiki.

They wordlessly exited the hospital with Muro in tow and walked to the limo in the same manner that they've been doing all night. On the limo drive to her father's estate, Michiru didn't bother with useless conversation. She was tired and was using all her remaining strength to keep herself from sleeping.

When they finally reached the estate, Michiru took notice of the guards protecting the entranceway and perimeter of the entire land; each guard placed at least twenty feet from another. As she walked out of the limo, this time thankful that neither of the bodyguards on her charge tonight were doing the same defensive stance, she looked over at the white stone mansion and gave a nostalgic smile.

Of course it still looked the same—she only moved out two months ago. A guard stationed at the front door opened up for her immediately and she paid no mind to the lavishly luxurious items decorating the entranceway. Instead, she walked up the spiral staircase of the west wing towards her original bedroom. As she touched the doorknob, Saiki stuck his hand near hers making her look up at him imploringly.

"I'm sorry Kaioh-san, but it's procedure. We need to double check your room before you can step foot in it," Saiki explained.

Michiru gave an exasperated sigh, but nonetheless nodded. Saiki and Muro diligently searched through every nook and cranny of her room with their guns in front of them. When they deemed it safe, they bowed from the doorway of the room, bid Michiru goodnight, and closed it for her.

The main thing she noticed as she discarded her violin case on the side next to a stand was that the room, although clean and dust-free looked to be the same room she left. A big king sized bed with white goose down sheets was rooted in the middle of two entranceways to the balconies leading outside. The curtains covering the entranceways fell gracefully from their original position as the lithe girl pulled them close, freeing herself from any prying eyes. Her favorite art pieces she herself painted still decorated the walls and a music stand and a study was further to her left. She padded to an adjoining room, a walk in closet, and picked out a camisole to wear for the night, and changed in the private bath next the closet. When she got back to her room, she drew back the cold sheets and gently laid herself down.

Silence.

Finally, after a tiring day, all was silent. This silence though held no comfort. It was thick and suffocating, like a calm before a storm. She curled up in a fetal position and firmly closed her eyes, forcing herself to drift off into an uneasy sleep.

AN: Just a word of warning (or a lot actually, but if you do get bored reading them, you're not subjected to):

This story will be completely AU so don't expect either outer to suddenly transform…they're completely human.

None of the other senshi will make an appearance.

Any other character who's not H&M will be an original character and trust me…there's a lot of them.

This is Haruka and Michiru we're talking about… of course there's going to be shoujo-ai (girl love), so if you're not up to it just click that back button.

First finished H&M fic so it might not be as good as half of what's out there, but I'll take reviews as well as criticizes (just make it a good argument). If I get a flame for something I've written here in the AN… . ;; I'll do that face and then ignore it. If anything else though, I will answer questions regarding the storyline as long as it doesn't mean giving out what's going to happen in the future.

Last, but not least… Sailor Moon and all its characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko-san…not me.

On another note, Japanese culture's big on honorifics (using –chan, -san, -kun after a name). I've made it so in this story so I'll say I'm sorry in advance if it bothers you to read them. Also, I'll only be using a couple Japanese words like titles (sensei, oji, otou, okaa…). Using as little as possible to none makes for a better flowing storyline, but it felt weird for Michiru to say their English equivalents (teacher/doctor, uncle, father, mother) so I just let it stay the way I originally wrote it. Haruka will show in the next chapter so…I'll see you then. Reading and reviewing will be much appreciated.


	2. Unknown Bodyguard

Chapter 2: Unknown Bodyguard

_God it's noisy. Why in the world is it so noisy?_

Deep blue eyes opened to a familiar wooden ceiling as Michiru finally remembered the events from the night before. She emitted a small sigh.

_It wasn't a dream._

The noise was coming from the first floor; most likely the living area. Michiru rubbed her eyes and pulled the covers off her body. She walked to her closet, pulled out a casual light blue dress, took a shower, and after an hour, came out fully clothed and functional. A knock issued from her door as she placed the brush for her hair down.

"Kaioh-san?"

It was Saiki. Michiru opened the door and greeted the young man with a smile.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

They exchanged greetings as Michiru watched Muro bow to her from the side. More noise erupted from downstairs making Michiru raise an eyebrow in question,

"Kaioh-sama's home," Saiki answered the unspoken question.

Michiru's eyes immediately lit up.

"He's downstairs with Morimoto-sama as well as your mother and a few other bodyguards."

Michiru nodded in understanding and started walking down the stairs in quick succession, Muro and Saiki closely following her. She couldn't wait to see how her father was faring.

"Otou-san!" Michiru called and ran to her father as he got up from his chair.

Unlike the weak form that lay helplessly in the hospital bed yesterday, Kaioh Akira looked a hundred times healthier. He stood on his full height of five feet ten inches and had a warm easygoing smile atop his handsome face. He would look absolutely normal in his three piece black suit if it wasn't for a sling coming down from his right shoulder propping up his left arm. He gave his daughter a wholehearted hug and kissed her on the cheek as she returned the pleasantries.

"How's your wound?" she asked. A worried look came upon her face as she looked at the offending sling.

Akira only shrugged and rubbed the wrinkle that appeared on Michiru's forehead. "Nothing I can't handle. It only stings when I move it. Otherwise, I'm fine."

"I'm glad to hear that."

He tapped the seat beside him after Michiru greeted her godfather and mother and then sat down.

"As you probably know," Akira started getting to the point very quickly, "I'm very concerned about you and your mother's safety especially after last night. We've all been discussing it and we feel that it's best if you stay under the protection of my bodyguards for the time being."

Michiru's frown immediately returned. "Otou-san…" she let out in sighing exasperation.

"Please understand Michi-chan," Akira expressed, his voice laced with deep concern. "These people who attacked me last night are still out there. They won't stop until they hurt me completely. Everyone in the world knows my life revolves around you and your mother, so therefore, I can't rest well until I know that both of you are in good hands, especially in those many times that I'm not with you."

Michiru looked at her father in the same pools of deep blue for a second before turning away, opting instead to look at one of the wide windows. She didn't like it, of course she wouldn't. But she knew that her father was right. She herself was thinking the same thoughts just last night. With shoulders slumped and an even deeper wrinkle atop her forehead, she looked back at her father, sighed, and nodded in agreement.

Akira sighed in relief, glad that his pretty stubborn daughter was taking it all in stride. He turned his head to the other side of the room and continued, "Well then, now that that's passed, I'd like you to meet your bodyguard."

The violinist looked up to the direction her father looked as a tall young man stood up with sandy blonde, unruly short hair. She looked at his choice of attire skeptically and swept her eyes throughout the room as well. Instead of the trademark black suit and red tie her father makes his men wear, the young man in front of her wore a casual pair of khakis over a black short sleeved polo shirt. Piercing emerald green eyes looked back at her as he stuck his hand out.

"Tenoh Haruka."

His voice was mellow and deep and the way he carried himself punctuated sonorous pride and determination. What really caught Michiru's eyes however was Tenoh's body language. Although he looked and spoke like a man, there was a slight effeminate grace in everything he did. Michiru immediately concluded then, that either he was closeted and good at hiding it or a woman dressed up as a man. Either way she didn't think that this person was good enough to be her body guard. Her father was constantly surrounded by the strongest, smartest, and most qualified bodyguards in, if not Japan, the world. They flocked around him so frequently that she's managed to remember them all by their outward appearances already. Tenoh Haruka, was an anomaly. She can not put his face with any of the bodyguards that have been guarding her father since the start of TWE.

"From how you're openly staring at me," Haruka suddenly stated causing Michiru's eyes to widen in surprise, "and how you're not taking my hand to shake it, I believe you're trying to size me up. You're thinking that I probably wouldn't make a good bodyguard because I'm not built like most men and hence probably can't bring down guys bigger than I am. You're thinking, 'He's too lanky, too thin, not packed with enough muscles, and father must've called him as a last resort because he couldn't find anyone else better to baby sit me. After all, I'm quite familiar with the members of my father and Kenro Oji-san's entourage, and I've never seen him before, so he must be completely under their rank.'" Haruka smirked as she mocked the sound of what's supposed to be her ward's voice. "Tell me, Kaioh-san, did I miss anything?"

Michiru's eyebrow raised questioningly, but nevertheless got up to shake Haruka's waiting hand. Akira only smiled at the interaction between his daughter and her new bodyguard.

"Actually Tenoh-kun," Michiru replied quickly getting her composure back. "Your assumptions are correct. Congratulations. I'm glad you know exactly how I feel about you. It saves me the trouble of having to act differently."

Akira this time laughed wholeheartedly stopping the already accumulating bicker his daughter and Haruka started. "Actually Michi-chan Tenoh's a woman as well. I felt that giving you a bodyguard of the same gender would make it a more comfortable experience for you," he explained. "…as well as myself…" he spoke that part softly to himself.

Michiru smirked in inward satisfaction. "Ara, I guess you're not the only one making correct assumptions today Tenoh-san. When I first got a good look at you, I presumed you to be either gay or a tomboy. I guess it's the latter."

Anger flashed through Haruka's dark green orbs making Michiru step back in reflex. As soon as it came though, it passed replaced with a forced nonchalant expression.

"Alright, alright," Kenro stated breaking through the thick tension hanging over both teens. "That's enough. Michiru-chan, I'd just like to inform you that Tenoh wasn't picked out as a last resort for you. She's highly trained in armed and unarmed combat, and what she lacks in brawns she has in brains. Please, warm up to one another as this current placement is temporarily permanent."

Michiru saw Haruka look away and nodded in compliance to her godfather's words. They gave each other one fleeting look and afterwards sat back down on their original seats to listen to the ramblings of old men in silence.

After breakfast, Michiru bade goodbye to her family. She had a lot of things to do before the sunlight disappeared over the horizon and no crazy president shooting lunatic would stop her from accomplishing what she had to do.

"Kaioh-san," a familiar voice called from behind her.

Sighing, Michiru abruptly turned to her caller and was met with the blonde standing a few feet from her.

"What is it Tenoh-san?" she asked coolly.

"We need to talk about your plans for the day," Haruka replied.

Michiru inwardly groaned and narrowed her eyes. "Look, I have a very busy day today Tenoh-san. As far as I know, you don't need to know exactly where I go and what time I have to do whatever it is I'm doing. What I do know is that you'll be akin to a shadow for me for the next month or so until this threat passes and to tell you the truth, I don't like that.I don't like the fact that I'll have one of Otou-san's many cronies all the time with me, nagging at me at every chance and opportunity. I value my independence. So go ahead and do you job in any way, shape, or form that you're satisfied with. Just at least respect my need for privacy and don't get in my way unless the need for protecting me really arises."

Feeling that she got her point across, Michiru looked at Haruka's stony expression and walked out of the foyer of the estate not bothering to stay and see if the other had any problems with what she's just said. A chauffeur opened the door to a parked and running Rolls Royce Phantom and before he could close the door, Haruka got in as well.

"Where to Kaioh-san?" the driver asked as he situated himself in front of the steering wheel.

"My studio please. I need to speak with my manager," Michiru replied.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

The whole day has been passing by indescribably slow for Haruka. The cold attitude Michiru sported was expected. Her father had made it a point to her that his only child did not like being tailed around whether it was for her protection or not.

_"She puts great value on her independence. That's the main reason why she moved out two months ago… to try things out on her own. She'll be cold to you Haruka-chan, but don't worry, she's a great girl. Give her a few days to get used to it. Get to know her better and let her subconsciously get to know you. After a while, I'm sure you'll end up being pretty good friends…or at least on good terms…"_

Her superior's voice slowly dwindled out of her mind as she once again looked at Michiru's figure from the corner of her eye. It was around lunchtime and they were situated at a pretty empty café near her manager's studio. Michiru and her manager, Fukui Sanada were having lunch at a corner table while Haruka sat at another table adjacent to theirs.

Whatever Michiru may think, this was not the first time Haruka had ever seen her. In person, yes, but the pictures Haruka has seen could not even compare to the lithe form sitting on the table beside her. The aquamarine curls danced every time she moved to shake or nod her head and the streaming sunlight coming from the window gave her an almost ethereal glow. Her sculpted cheeks and disarming smile could only be best seen in person. And those eyes…

_If only her words were as angelic as she looked…_ Haruka sighed and sipped the black coffee that she had ordered previously.

They've been inside the café for an hour now and Haruka was losing all of her senses from sheer boredom, although her stoic face would say otherwise. To her delight, entertainment arrived in the form of three high school girls coming into the otherwise empty café.

Haruka passed her eyes over them and stared back down at her coffee. _Three high school girls. The one in the very right acts spacey and feels almost always left out of the group. The left most girl is a follower and a spreader of gossip. The centermost girl is the so-called head honcho, the one who always got what she wanted. They always try to act more mature than they look, but all are really boisterous, boy crazy, and immature. At the present moment, there's a tense situation inside the group which is constantly being faked over by loud, phony laughter. Their friendship won't last the school year… The kind of girls I'd hate if I ever went to school._

Haruka smirked at the afterthought. One of her many useful abilities was to gauge a person's personality, reaction, and situation in a time span of thirty seconds after looking at them with just a passing eye. Ninety-five percent of the time, it was accurate.

She looked back up and gave a casual glance at one of the girls who caught her eye and gave her a seductive smile. Not being able to restrain herself, she winked back and continued drinking her coffee.

She looked at her watch. _In a minute or less, I'll be invited to join them._

Twenty seconds later, as told by her watch, the "gossiper" of the group came over to her table and gave her that same smile.

"Can I help you?" Haruka asked a confident and knowing smirk planted on her lips.

"Yeah," the girl stated. "My friends and I were wondering if you were interested in joining us for a drink."

Haruka glanced at Michiru who she saw was looking at her through the corner of her eyes. She glanced back at the girl and smiled wider.

"Yes, it'll be my pleasure."

Upon joining their table, Haruka's previous assumptions were laid bare and true. It wasn't directly spoken or anything, but from what she gathered, the head honcho was over controlling and too demanding and the gossiper was tired of it. The spacey one looked like she would much rather be somewhere else and the tension was thick regardless of the annoying laughter they pealed out every ten seconds.

Although she kept up with the entire conversation among the three schoolgirls, she kept a weary glance at Michiru's table. Multitasking was another one of her useful abilities. She could be doing ten different things at one time and still make it seem like she had her undivided attention for each task.

Another fifteen minutes passed when she finally caught sight of Michiru and Fukui getting up from their table. She politely declined an offer to meet up tonight, declared that she did not have a cell phone, hence couldn't give them her number, said her goodbye, and followed Michiru and her manager out of the café.

"Thank you again for understanding Fukui-san," Haruka heard Michiru say as she bowed.

"It's no problem Kaioh-san. Tell your father to have a speedy recovery," Fukui replied with a smile.

"Yes, I'll be sure to tell him. Goodbye."

"Bye."

Fukui crossed the street to the studio as Haruka followed Michiru into the Phantom.

"Driver?" Michiru called.

"Yes, Kaioh-san?"

"Take me back to my father's please."

"Right away miss."

Expecting the same silence as the earlier ride, Haruka stared passively out of the windows when Michiru's voice got her attention.

"Who were those girls?"

Haruka turned her head away from the rushing scenery and looked at the violinist questioningly.

When she received no reply, Michiru continued, "They seemed like they knew you and you acted the same way. It's not that I care, I'm just curious."

Haruka shrugged. "I don't know them. I was just being social."

"You seem to be quite the flirter then," was the quick reply.

"Was it in my jurisdiction as your bodyguard to always act like a robot?" the blonde asked with a hint of edginess.

"No," Michiru shook her head. "But then maybe you'd be a better bodyguard if that was the case."

Haruka narrowed her eyes and whipped her glance back to the rushing scenery. Her voice was steely and forced as she spoke out. "First, run into a life or death situation with me. And then from that experience give me advice on how to do my job better. Until then, pardon me if I act the way I do now and completely forget this conversation ever came up."

And once again, all was silent.

Haruka felt livid inside. She bit the bottom of her lip to restrain herself from gritting her teeth and looked at the car window where the blurry reflection of the aqua haired girl was prominent. She looked at the crease forming on top of the girl's forehead and inwardly sighed. More than angry, she felt depressed. She wanted the both of them to be at least in good terms; her job would be easier in that sense. But she knew it was deeper than that. Her frown intensified. She hated it when her thoughts ran away. The trip back was spent with her staring at the reflection of the girl next to her.

As they were nearing the estate, it finally dawned on Haruka as to why they were going back to the mansion. Every Sunday, from late afternoon to dinner, Michiru and her mother would spend the day together. They were both very busy women so long ago, they decided to reserve a day when they can meet up and go around Tokyo. That was the start of their Sunday outings. Sometimes, Akira joined them, but usually, they were by themselves.

When the car stopped in front of the stone staircases leading to the front door, a guard at the bottom of it held the door open for the two teens. When Haruka got out followed by Michiru, they were met by two other guards from Michiru's father's division.

_What were their names again?_ Haruka asked thoughtfully.

"Muro-kun, Kensuke-san, good afternoon," Michiru greeted with a smile Haruka had the misfortune not to be in the receiving end of yet.

_Right, Muro and Saiki. Interesting, Saiki and Kaioh-san are on a first name basis?_

"Good afternoon Kaioh-san," Saiki greeted. Muro bowed from behind him.

_Nope, apparently only Kaioh-san's on a first name basis._

"Tenoh," Saiki continued. "A letter for you from Morimoto-sama. I believe it should explain why Muro and I will take over for the rest of the night and a little bit tomorrow morning in escorting Kaioh-san."

Haruka took the letter from his hand, read its contents once, and nodded in compliance. Michiru's brow furrowed in curiosity as the blonde put it back in its envelope. It didn't seem too long since it only took the blonde a few seconds to read it.

"Take good care of her then," Haruka stated as she placed the envelope in her back pocket.

"We're not stupid Tenoh," Saiki grunted in utter dislike.

"I never said you were," Haruka replied as she walked past him and into the house. "You made yourself believe that all on your own."

She gave one backwards glance to Michiru who was skeptically looking at her and disappeared into the foyer.

"Who the hell does he think he is anyway?" Saiki grunted some more, but calmed down immensely as he felt the violinist's hand touch his shoulder. He blushed at her gesture, but quickly composed himself as Mrs. Kaioh came out of the mansion followed by two other bodyguards. They all went to a waiting stretch Escalade, the four bodyguards sitting on the sides and the two Kaiohs all the way in the back. As the car started moving out of the Kaioh Estate, conversation began between mother and daughter.

"How are you dealing with the current situation?" Yuriko asked conversationally. Michiru sighed, causing the elder Kaioh to chuckle. "It didn't look like Tenoh-san and you hit it off real well this morning."

Michiru looked out the window and recalled the thick tension in the ride back from her studio. "It only got worse after that."

"Hmm? How so?"

"I really don't know. It's just whenever we bothered to even talk, the words would just all of the sudden turn bitter…either from her or me."

"Did you actually try to get to know her?" Yuriko asked with mirth laced in her tone.

"Okaa-san…"

"Michi-chan," her mother interrupted. "Get to know her. From what I gather, she's a nice person. Your father thinks very highly of her."

Michiru's brow furrowed. "I'll try if she will…"

At that reply, Yuriko laughed heartily. "You sound like grade school student Michiru. I will if she will…"

Michiru felt a slight annoyance as her mother continued to laugh, but after a while she emitted a chuckled as well. She could always trust her mother to be the sensible one. She recalled her creased features last night and widened her smile at the continually laughing and seemingly carefree elder Kaioh. She's only glad the shooting incident didn't take much toll.

"Fine," she said with a pleasant smile on her face. "If it makes you feel better, then I will try and get along with her…for Father's sake."

Yuriko smiled warmly at her daughter. "I don't understand. You normally get along with people you've just met. It's afterwards that's the problem."

Michiru gave an exasperated smile and shrugged. "I don't know why she's any different…"

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

As Michiru opened the door to her condominium, Saiki and Muro dashed quickly inside with weapons drawn and with fluid grace, checked every room for any sign of intruders or traps. Once they deemed it safe, they put their firearms back in their holsters and walked into the living room where a tired Michiru sat on a white leather loveseat, eyes half closed.

"Is everything okay?" she asked suppressing a yawn.

"Yes, everything's fine Kaioh-san," Saiki answered. "You may rest. Muro and I will be out here if you need us."

Michiru nodded and stood up, the shopping bags laid on the floor discarded.

"Good night then Kensuke-kun, Muro-kun." Her eyes fell on the discarded shopping bags as her eyes drooped tiredly. _I'll just put those away tomorrow._

They bade her goodnight as well as she left the living-room and walked into her room.

The rest of the day passed by relatively uneventful after she joined up with her mother. They went around Shibuya and shopped for clothes and accessories, making the most of the burly, black suited bodyguards around them by buying more than they normally would. After their long, not to mention expensive, shopping trip, they ended the night by going to a restaurant for dinner. Needless to say, Michiru was tired, but she had homework due first thing in the morning so after getting ready for bed, took out her homework from her bookbag and began working on it.

_History, Modern Japanese, Calculus, and an essay for English._

Sighing heavily, she opened her History textbook and began reading up on the Meiji era.

About two and a half hours later, a knock issued from her door causing her to look up and stop working on her essay momentarily.

"Yes?" she answered.

Saiki's head stuck through the crack of the door and gave her a surprised smile. "I noticed that your light was still open, so I decided to check up on you."

"Oh, come in Kensuke-kun," Michiru replied and motioned for him to enter.

He did so and closed the door behind him. He pulled a chair from her desk and sat by her bedside.

"Homework?" he asked.

Michiru nodded. "I was planning on doing it yesterday night like I normally would, but yesterday could be hardly called normal…"

Saiki nodded understandingly.

A weird silence engulfed them as Michiru contemplated on what to say next while trying out several sentence structures that sounded grammatically correct in English. Without thinking and just wanting the silence between them to break, she asked the first question that came to mind.

"So, do you know where Tenoh-san went off to?"

Saiki shifted uncomfortably on his seat and gave a sickened look upon hearing Haruka's last name. "Well it should be explained to you tomorrow…" he answered dodging the question.

Michiru smiled at his reaction. "What do you know about her?"

"So he really is a she…" he stated talking more to himself than to the aqua haired girl.

She favored him with an amused glance and continued on with her homework.

"Well, I just thought you and Kaioh-san were accidentally calling hi—her a girl," Saiki explained quickly as he saw her look away with a smile on her face. He continued momentarily, "Well, in answering your question, no, I don't know much about her. Scratch that… I don't know a single thing about her."

This outward declaration caused Michiru to stop working completely to give him her undivided attention.

"Today was actually the first time I've ever met her. I mean, I've worked with your father for about a year or so and I know each and every single one of his bodyguards by name… I've never met, seen, or even heard her name before."

"Is there a possibility that she worked for Kenro Oji-san?"

Saiki shook his head vehemently. "Kaioh-sama and Morimoto-sama always work together, so they usually go to the same places together. I've at least worked with all of Morimoto-sama's bodyguards in five separate occasions already."

"And Tenoh-san was never there?"

"Nope…"

"So where did she come from?"

Saiki scratched the back of his head and gave her a confused, but genuine look. "I don't know…"

"Well, isn't that a little strange?" Michiru implored. "Kenro Oji-san said that she's one of the best and yet you, who've been working for my father for over a year, have never met her before."

"I don't get it either. I was hoping Muro or me, or some other people who are trustworthy in your father's division could protect you, but Tenoh just came out of the blue and she was picked. Needless to say, I am worried."

Michiru gauged his expression and frowned. "You don't trust her?"

He hastily shook his head. "Nope, I don't trust her one bit. I'm scared for your well being. You're going to be alone with this guy…girl for a couple of weeks, months even! My gut instinct's telling me that something bad may happen because of her."

An uncontrollable shiver ran up Michiru's spine causing her to suddenly shake.

"I really don't mean to scare you Kaioh-san," Saiki said softly and placed his hand over hers. "We're slowly figuring out that there's a spy in our midst. Someone untrustworthy has a high placement in TWE and is trying to bring the company down by taking President Kaioh and Vice President Morimoto down first. We're in a state of chaos. We think this guy's laundering money out of the company slowly. Already a couple million have been taken out of TWE's accounts and no one knows how or why they're disappearing. Along with that and the attempt on your father's life, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that there's a traitor in our midst.

"That's why it's adamant that you and your mother get great protectors. If this guy's willing to shoot your father down, he's crazy enough to shoot anyone and Kaioh-sama and Morimoto-sama knows that, so I don't get why they would hire a nobody newbie like Tenoh to protect you."

Michiru felt her stomach twist as the nervousness from earlier refused to dissipate. "Have you voiced your concerns to Otou-san or Oji-san?"

Saiki looked at her like she was crazy. "Heck no! I—I don't want to step out of line and get fired… But I do have a suggestion. It's all up to you in the end, but…"

Michiru leaned closer to him as if he were relaying to her the biggest secret.

"One of my lower ranked comrades is taking a sabbatical. He owes me a favor, so for his month off I'll make him follow you and Tenoh. If Tenoh tries anything, he'll be there in a blink of an eye."

Relief washed over Michiru's face as she gave him a warm smile and a hug. "Thank you, Kensuke-kun. I truly appreciate you doing this for me."

Saiki blushed heavily, but nonetheless returned the affection. "I—it's no problem."

As they broke off, Saiki looked at a clock over Michiru's bed; it was nearing two o'clock.

"It's getting pretty late," Michiru said when she noticed where he was looking. "I'll just finish this up. I'll go to bed right when I finish it."

Saiki nodded and stood up. "Alright then. I'll be living you alone so you can finish up. Goodnight, Kaioh-san."

"Kensuke-kun?" Michiru called as he opened her bedroom door. He looked back with an asking glance. "Please call me Michiru."

A thousand watt smile lit his face as he nodded vigorously. "Understood. Goodnight then, Michiru-san."

Michiru returned the smile. "Goodnight, Kensuke-kun."

Michiru first met Saiki over a year ago when he started working for her father. At the time, he was appointed to Unit One, where he would stand guard in the Estate and watch over specific rooms or items when specifically directed. He was also the person her father turned to when he wanted to keep tabs on his daughter's whereabouts. As slow as the start was, Saiki managed to go up the ranks and was promoted to Unit Four, the President or Vice-President's entourage. He's the only one Michiru was on speaking terms with regarding any of her father's employees because of the fact that he used to work in the Estate's premises. He was once told to watch over Michiru's Stradivarius when it was first given to her and so had many opportunities of hearing the young prodigy play. Among those times was when Michiru, partially because she was bored, engaged in a conversation with him, and it grew on from there. He was a nice enough guy and the violinist genuinely liked him as a friend.

Another fifteen minutes passed and she was finally able to finish all of her homework, the essay being the last one. She arranged all of the papers and books in her bookbag and settled down in her bed. She stared at the white ceiling as her thoughts dwindled to her tall, blonde, mysterious bodyguard.

_Who are you Tenoh Haruka?_

She stayed up for another minute thinking about Haruka and her father's company's situation until sleep finally caught up to her.

AN: BLIZZARD GAMES SHOULD BE BANNED. O.O;; I don't really have any other excuses than that… avid video gamer as well as a writer so those two things don't add up together real well. One will take your time and the other will be completely forgotten until another review creeps in and you're like, "Oh yeah…I posted a story I said I'd update…" So there's the second chappy…Like it? Don't like it? Think I should just stop now and keep playing video games? Read and review and lemme know. Before leaving though…I'll answer to a couple reviews:

Seafoam-pulse: Your review was the one that woke me up. Thank you and I'm glad you like it.

SilentKing: I was hoping my depiction was sorta like those other movies, but I'm also hoping in the end that it's nothing like it. A little originality never hurt hehehe. As for Haruka's gender…sorry, but it's one the things that I left for another fic writer to write drama about…the story's going to be too long if I delved in that area. Thank you for the pleasant compliments.

Petiyaka: Thanks

Anon: Hahaha…I know what you mean. What's a Greg doing in Japan going out with Michiru? (This was completely random and if anyone out there has a fanfic w/ a character named Greg who happens to be going out w/ Michiru I am very sorry. It's not targeted towards you) But yes…it doesn't make sense that a Japanese character living in Japan happens to have an English name…that's just weird.

Urooj: You are my first review so thank you for being the first to hit that review button and kept going at it. I wish I could do what you do, but most of the time I don't give proper props to writers and just get lazy and exit outta the screen.


	3. Turn Down the Animosity

Chapter 3: Turn Down the Animosity

The alarm rang noisily into the still early morning air making dark blue eyes open in alarm. Michiru glanced at the clock reading 5:30 AM and shut it off immediately. She pushed her blanket off and shivered slightly as the cold air washed over her scantily clad body. She padded across the room to her closet and took out her uniform: a scarlet shirt with dark green bows and collar and a green plaid skirt with shades of dark and light green stripes vertically crossing it: the school uniform of Mugen Gakuen.

After showering and adorning herself in her uniform, the violinist walked out of her room and noticed Saiki's sleeping form on her white leather sofa and Muro standing by the glass windows, wide awake.

"Good morning Muro-kun."

He stripped his eyes away from the already busy streets below and bowed slightly at her direction. "Good morning to you too Kaioh-san," he greeted politely, his voice low and powerful.

She proceeded to walk into her kitchen to start breakfast and in the middle of cooking a Western style meal with eggs, sausages, and bacon, Saiki woke up, greeted her, and with the help of Muro, began setting up the table. After she finished, they placed the cooked food on the table and began eating while deliberating about the day.

"Will you be with me throughout the day?" Michiru asked eyeing both of them as she picked up a piece of bacon.

Saiki shook his head. "We'll just escort you to school and stay with you before the first bell rings. We'll be leaving right after…Kaioh-sama's orders."

Michiru nodded understandingly and continued eating. As they finished, Muro volunteered to wash the dishes, much to Michiru's surprise, while the aqua haired girl grabbed her bookbag from her room, brushed her teeth a final time, and exited the condo with her bodyguards in tow.

They got into a Bentley Continental, Michiru and Saiki situated in the backseat while Muro went into the Driver's side, and began driving to Mugen Gakuen. The ride to the school was a short one with Michiru's condo only being a five minute drive away. Usually, she would walk to school to take in the sights of the Delta before the morning rush came in, but both Saiki and Muro insisted on driving her so she complied.

Once they arrived on school property, they all walked to Michiru's homeroom, class 2-A.

Mugen was an exclusive high school for the rich and talented. Most of the students that attended it were considered geniuses in their own right and the classes taught were in the same level as university courses. In the last year of her junior high, Mugen sent Michiru an invitational letter. Her exceptional show of playing the violin and painting weren't the only reasons for the exclusive high school's interest in her. Among her peers, she ranked as valedictorian and number one in the class in Taisen Gakuen, one of the most exclusive junior high schools in the country.

Michiru noted, as she stepped in her homeroom followed by Saiki and Muro that only a number of people had just arrived. Hokuto, a serious quiet girl with raven, shoulder length hair and solemn caramel eyes stood up when she spotted the violinist and greeted her.

"It's true then," she whispered as she glanced at Saiki and Muro's nonchalant faces.

Michiru sighed. "Yes, it is. I'm sorry I couldn't call you this weekend."

Hokuto shook her head, making shiny black tresses bounce from her shoulder to her porcelain face. "Pay it no mind, I understand completely. More importantly, is your father alright?"

"Yes, he's recuperating. The sniper was, thank God, a bad shooter. He missed my father's vital organs completely, only managing to shoot him on the shoulder."

"I'm glad to hear that. A lot of things are floating around regarding the sniping and your father's condition. I haven't seen my father since Friday so I just wanted to check a genuine source."

Michiru smiled and followed Hokuto to her seat far back among the rows. It was situated near another desk that was positioned next to the window. Hokuto sat to her right side and Muro and Saiki followed up by standing right behind her chair in a parallel design. Hokuto turned to look at both of them, an amused look in her sparkling eyes.

"What?" Michiru asked, curious as to why Hokuto were looking at her bodyguards with such amusement.

"Your entourage's expression and manner are equivalent to the guards in England."

"The Queen's Guards?" Michiru asked with mirth.

"Yeah, they're like statues."

Michiru looked back at an unblinking Saiki and Muro and laughed. "They're usually more easygoing when they're off duty. At least, Kensuke-san is," she replied waving to the young man to her left.

As time passed, more students came in. A lot asked questions regarding Michiru's father, but she brushed their questions aside. Hokuto was the only girl in the whole school that she could consider her friend, so only relayed the information to her. Everyone else she deemed as mere acquaintances, so she didn't bother with having to repeat the same lines over and over.

"It was probably just a media hoax," Megumi declared loudly in front of the classroom, causing everyone to look at her. "I bet Kaioh's father just wanted the attention of the media, so he made up some hoax that he got shot. I wouldn't be surprised if he paid them to be there to tape the whole thing."

Seito Megumi was by all means, the class drama queen. For the longest time, she and Michiru had a mutual dislike for one another and the relationship only got worse after each passing year. Megumi's father owned TWE's rival competitor Red Sun Technologies, so even if the violinist couldn't recall how they started disliking one another, she knew the main root of it. At the end of the day though, it was nothing but petty rivalry to her. Why would she ever let trivial words get to her?

"Okay, settle down," their teacher Kazuya boomed over the noise.

Simultaneously, Saiki and Muro left Michiru's side and walked out of the room without another word to her. At first she was confused, until she looked up to the front of the room and noticed a pair of dark green eyes looking at her. It immediately dawned on her as to why Haruka had to disappear yesterday. Getting invited to Mugen was one thing, but forcing your way in, in the middle of the year no less, was to say the least, difficult. Her father must've trudged through a lot of paperwork and money to make it happen.

Nevertheless, there was her tall, roguishly handsome bodyguard standing in front of the class with both hands casually tucked in her pants pockets, her bookbag held by her curved right arm. She was adorning the male Mugen Gakuen uniform: a white, long sleeve collared shirt with a red and green striped tie hanging properly on her neck; a scarlet blazer that hugged her body in a way that hid any female outlines and green plaid pants with the green stripes vertically and horizontally running across it.

If one word could describe her appearance right there and then, it would be handsome. Yes, Haruka was definitely handsome. And it didn't go unnoticed by the student body either. The half of the class consisting girls were swooning and giving her looks bordering boy-crazy and boy-insane and the other half consisting the boys were giving her death glares. If looks could kill, Haruka would've died twelve separate times.

"We've got a new student today," Kazuya-Sensei muttered in a bored manner. "I don't know if any of you noticed, but Shiba-kun, who sat near the window near Kaioh-san was transferred yesterday to a different class."

_Oh Father spent some money alright_, Michiru thought with a wry smile.

"Tenoh-kun will be replacing him. Introduce yourself so we can finally get started."

Haruka looked at her classmates and gave a charming, disarming smile. Sighs of appreciation erupted from the girls as she started, "Hello, I'm Tenoh Haruka. It's a pleasure to be here."

Questions erupted from a lot of voices as she finished her miniscule introduction. She looked at Kazuya-Sensei for directions as he slammed his hand into the board and made a screeching sound as his fingernails rode on the surface. The students emitted cries of pain and all was quiet when he finally stopped.

"Go ahead and sit by the vacant seat by the window. Everyone else, turn to page 351 and take out your homework I assigned to you last week. Tenoh-kun, I take it you have all the assigned textbooks?"

"Yeah," Haruka answered as she sat down.

She and Michiru shared a glance before they both took out their history textbooks and began working.

O-----O

If Haruka thought that waiting for Michiru in a café for two hours while she talked to her equally dull manager was boring, then this day could only be considered excruciatingly boring.

_Limits…limits?? _She just had to sigh. She hasn't looked at these kinds of math problems in ages, but her mind was up to par. _I can do these in my sleep…_

She slumped back in her chair to the point where she was looking at the ceiling. A huge yawn escaped her lips as the corners of her eyes watered slightly.

"Tenoh-kun."

She looked forward to find the teacher giving her a cross look.

"Please enlighten me…and answer question twenty three."

Haruka yawned, looking like she didn't have the care in the world, turned the page on her calculus textbook, and glanced at the problem.

"The limit does not exist," she answered a second later and went back to looking at the ceiling.

The calculus teacher's frown deepened, but nevertheless went on. "Kaioh-san, number twenty four please."

Haruka stole a glance at the aquamarine haired beauty as she answered, "Negative one."

As the teacher moved on to ask Hokuto the answer to twenty five, Michiru felt someone eyeing her and looked at Haruka's direction. The blonde's eyes in turn flickered back to her textbook as she felt Michiru's eyes drift over to her.

_It's like a never ending dance_, Haruka thought and doodled on the corner of the textbook to create some form of entertainment for herself.

An hour later and it was finally lunch time. Hoping to finally get some time out of the classroom, Haruka immediately placed her books away when a flock of girls suddenly surrounded her table, barring any exit from her original spot. She tried to understand them, she really did, but it didn't help much to her ears when all of them spoke in the same, fast, high pitched voice, all at once. Meanwhile, Michiru saw the perfect opportunity to be truly independent without the watchful eyes of her father's crony. She grabbed a confused Hokuto by the wrist and literally dragged her out of the classroom.

Haruka frowned. She was acting very quiet in hopes that all of them would leave her alone, but these girls, if that was what they really were, only spoke more with each passing second.

_Do they even have lungs? I wouldn't be surprised if they don't need oxygen…None of them are stopping even for the slightest bit of air!_

She sighed heavily and looked over a girl's head towards Michiru's seat. Much to her deep annoyance, she found that the young violinist was gone. Her eyes darted to the front of the room towards the door to see Hokuto being pulled out.

_If the sources I was given is correct, that should be Sumeragi Hokuto, one of Kaioh-san's friends. And unless she was being dragged by an unseen force, that should be Kaioh-san sprinting out of the classroom with her._

Without a word of excuse, Haruka pushed through the sea of girls and rushed out of the classroom to find Michiru. Out in the hallway, she joined the waves of passing students, catching a glimpse of aquamarine hair every now and then. She saw her get into an elevator and ran, dodging people who got in her way expertly. Before the door could close, she managed to stick her hand in, which allowed the sensors to stop the door from closing.

She smirked at Michiru's growing frown and let the elevator door close behind her.

"Kaioh-san, if you don't mind, I'd like to eat my lunch with you," she stated sarcastically.

Michiru only rolled her eyes and looked away as an amused Hokuto watched the two interact, a soft smile gracing her features.

When the door of the elevator finally opened, Haruka found that their destination was the tenth floor, a floor that had many restaurants inside. Mugen, being a rich and spacious school, had four floors devoted solely on serving food: the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh; the tenth served mostly meals from European countries.

As they entered a restaurant devoted to pizzas and pastas, Michiru deliberately picked a table with two seats and pushed Hokuto on one of them before sitting down herself. Haruka raised an eyebrow questioningly before sitting at a table directly next to theirs as well. As their waiter left with their orders, Hokuto gave a look of interest at the blonde and spoke up.

"You know Tenoh-kun, I don't believe in coincidences," she started.

Haruka picked up a small breadstick handed to her by the waiter and chewed the end of it while looking at her passively. "Well then, that makes the two of us Sumeragi-san."

Hokuto smiled, curiosity showing through her caramel orbs. "Would you answer the truth if I asked you a question?"

Haruka rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin up. "It really depends on the question, but the likeliness that I'll tell you the truth is bigger than telling a lie."

Michiru looked on wordlessly at the two's attempt at a conversation.

"Are you Michiru-chan's bodyguard?"

Haruka drank some water to wash down the garlic aftertaste the bread gave her mouth. "As you probably could tell from the way Kaioh-san was futilely trying to run away from me, yes, I am her bodyguard."

Michiru sighed loudly in annoyance.

"By the way Kaioh-san, if you didn't realize it already, I will have to sleep and live in the same quarters as you for the remainder of the time we'll be spending together."

Michiru's eyes widened as she stared at Haruka in disbelief. It's only been a few months since she's truly gained her independence from her father and here was a loop hole, perfectly constructed so that he can watch her without consequence. And that made her tired of all this having-to-have-bodyguards all of the sudden. Why can't anyone understand? All she wanted was a little time on her own. To prove to anyone, but especially to herself, that she can make it without the aid of her parents; that she can stand alone. She could understand why her father's bodyguards stayed last night, but why from then on? She did _not_ need a babysitter. Especially one that's so arrogant and apparently so full of herself. Maybe if it was Saiki, she'd be fine. At least she doesn't have to put up with a time bomb all the time.

"So where to after school, your condo or mine?"

Somewhere along the one sided conversation, Michiru's fork dropped noisily on the ground causing other students, staff, and employees in the restaurant to look at her skeptically.

"No," she stated softly, but firmly gaining her voice back.

Haruka gave her an asking glance. "I'm sorry Kaioh-san, I didn't hear that. Did you say yours?"

"No," Michiru stated this time loud enough for Haruka to hear.

"Then your father wanted me to relay the message of seeing him after school," Haruka muttered before taking a sip of her cola.

"I'm busy today Tenoh-san," she stated icily. "I don't have the luxury or time to just go and see him when it pleases him."

Haruka shrugged. "That's not my problem. Either you see him and get this problem of yours fixed or I'll just stay with you, with or without your permission. Either way, I think the end result will be me staying with you, whether you like it or not."

Michiru angrily stood up forcing her chair back. Inside, she concluded that telling the blonde her opinion on her and the matter was long passed overdue. "Why did father choose you anyway?" she spat as she whipped her face to look at Haruka's. She was already so tired of this... of her. "Why couldn't he just ask Kensuke-kun? At least that way, I know I'm being respected!"

Haruka looked at her incredulously for a second before standing up as well, all the anger she kept in yesterday all of the sudden flowing out. "Respect? You want to talk to me about respect Kaioh-san?" she growled, her voice very low and menacing. "From the first day we met, you've disrespected me more than anyone I know. You openly expressed your dislike for my job, yet you've never had the decency to look at it in my perspective. You've complained about my inability to be a good escort when I have yet to fail you."

Michiru continued to gaze at her levelly, but didn't reply back.

The blonde scratched her head in frustration and crumpled a folded napkin in her hand. "I've heard…nothing, but good things about you. Kaioh-san said so many things that I was actually ecstatic to work for you. And then when I finally get the chance to meet you, all I see is your dislike for me, a person you know completely nothing about.

"So tell me Kaioh-san, what would you like me to do so this can work between us? Just tell me because I know it's not fun for you since it's not fun for me either. I'm not asking to be your best friend, I'm merely asking that you give me the same respect that I've shown you. And maybe you don't think that I have given you that, but I have. You've already tested my patience more than most people I've met in two days time and I've never done anything about it until now. So with all due _respect_ Kaioh-san, do not ask me for something I'm already giving, that you have yet to give."

By this time, they've gathered an audience. Michiru however, could not see any of them; her head was in a daze. A lot of the events over the past day flashed through her mind and she hated to admit it, especially to herself, but Haruka's words rang only the truth. Ever since the incident, she's been constantly followed around, her independence a mere thing of the past. Haruka, she found, was unfortunately the perfect candidate to release all her pent up feelings to, so before even really getting to know her, the dislike already started. She gulped down the dryness already surrounding her throat.

"_I don't understand,"_ her mother's voice filtered through her head. _"You normally get along with people you've just met."_

Michiru closed her eyes, sighed heavily, then looked at her bodyguard pick at her food that's finally arrived. Before she could say anything, the blonde had already stood up, pushing the uneaten plate away.

"Forget it," Haruka grunted as she picked up the plate and tossed it in the nearest receptacle. She walked a couple of feet towards the exit of the restaurant and looked back at Michiru with cold, narrowed eyes. "I'll resign from this post and request for your beloved Saiki to take my place since that's what you really want. I know you'll be disappointed, but I have to at least finish this day. You don't have to worry, this'll probably be the last day you'll see me."

With that, she stalked out of the restaurant with clenched fists, leaving a skeptical Hokuto and guilt ridden Michiru behind.

When the girls finished lunch and entered their homeroom it was still free period. The period right after lunch for class 2-A was considered the study period, but most of the students chose to socialize or just hang out. Haruka, much to Michiru's chagrin, was still not there. She and Hokuto walked back to their desks, as Ryu, a fellow classmate got up from his seat to go to them.

"Ahh, if it isn't my beloved Michi-chan," he murmured with a smirk.

Michiru narrowed her eyes. "I'm not having an especially good day Tsuma-kun, so please, just go away."

Ryu's smirk widened and brushed his brunette hair back. "Oh yes, I noticed. I didn't know you and the transfer student knew each other."

Michiru rolled her eyes. Below her father and godfather's position in TWE were five people known as the Board of Directors. Ryu's father was, unfortunately, one of them—so was Hokuto's.

"You know," Ryu continued, "You never answered my question last Friday, so I'm tossing it up in the air again. Go out with me tonight."

"I'd rather rot," the violinist muttered under her breath. Given what happened during lunch, talking with Ryu was by far the last thing Michiru had in mind. His pushy and arrogant attitude did not sit well with her and his courting methods were just a little less than barbaric—not to mention the violinist had absolutely no interest in him.

Ryu's eyes slit in anger at her almost automatic response and suddenly grabbed her chin. "If you didn't get it from the tone of my voice, then I'll say it. I wasn't asking a question Michi-chan, it was a statement."

Michiru's dark blue eyes widened in surprise and horrid as Ryu moved forward in an attempt to kiss her. Her hand balled into a fist ready to strike when suddenly another hand struck out grabbing the hand that held Michiru's chin. At the same time, Ryu felt another hand clutch the back of his neck and the hand that seized a hold of his wrist snapped it around his back causing the joint joining his shoulder and arm to twist violently.

He yelped in pain as Michiru looked on, surprise evident on her face. Ryu felt the hand in the back of his neck tighten and before he knew it, his face violently slammed against the top of Michiru's desk. Pain welled up in his nose as he twisted his face to see who had attacked him.

"Tenkousei!" he yelled his teeth grinding against one another.

"Tenoh-san!" Michiru cried, her manner now being more panic stricken. "Please let him go!"

Haruka took her hand off Ryu's neck and grabbed his neat hair instead. With a handful of his hair in her hands, she pushed his face deeper into the desk.

"Apologize," Haruka stated with a cold edge in her voice.

"Screw you tenkousei!" the boy shouted, his voice shrill.

In response, the blonde pulled his other hand further up his back causing him to cry louder.

"Apologize," she said again this time much firmer.

Little tear drops began forming around Ryu's eyes as he gave one last attempt to get out of Haruka's lock. Everyone could only watch in awe. Megumi, Hokuto, Michiru, and Ryu were a few of the students in Mugen who were considered off limits, the reason mainly because their parents were influential people of the community or, like in Michiru's case, the parents were owners of multi billion dollar companies. Furthermore, Ryu and Michiru never got along and it was a constant scene where Ryu would be trying in vain to get Michiru to go out with him. Not a lot of people liked it, but no one could do a thing, so whoops of praise rang the air after the students got over the initial shock of having someone actually having the guts to put Ryu in his place, and succeeding.

"Go Tenoh-kun!" one of the students even yelled.

Claps emitted from one of the more zealous students as the usually overconfident boy kept his embarrassing tears in.

"Are you going to apologize or not?" Haruka asked not heeding the class any attention.

Ryu felt his hand in his back forcibly creep higher. "Fine! Fine! I'm sorry Kaioh-san! I'm sorry!" he lamented. He locked eyes with a troubled, but silent aqua haired girl as the pain welling in his nose and sockets succeeded in finally making his tears run.

"I don't ever want to see this again, do you understand?"

He nodded vigorously. Haruka squeezed his hair and wrist one more time before letting go. Ryu pushed himself off the table, wiped the formulated tears around his cheeks and eyes, and spun around to face his attacker.

"Do you have any idea who the hell I am?" he demanded, immediately getting his attitude back. He stood toe to toe with the blonde, but failed to come off as threatening because of the big height difference.

"Yes, actually I do," Haruka stated evenly, staring him down effectively. "You're Tsuma Ryu, son of Tsuma Shinji, the laziest and hence lowest paid of the five Board of Director members in TWE. For the longest time, Kaioh-san and Morimoto-san have been contemplating on your father's future in the company. From what I know, it isn't going to last long and after I give my report on his son's sexual harassment involving a certain daughter or goddaughter, he'll probably be fired on the spot…literally."

All color immediately left Ryu's face turning it into a sickly pale white. He shook his head, his voice shaking as well when he spoke. "Y—you're bluffing!"

"Okay kids, settle down!" their Modern Japanese teacher suddenly called out as she came into the classroom.

Haruka broke eye contact with the cocky boy to look at the young teacher that had just walked in, but gave him her attention again as he made no move from his original spot. Ryu stared at her a bit longer, gave one last fleeting look at a now frowning Michiru, and finally turned away to go back to his seat. Their classmates, seeing the end of the fight followed suit as Haruka took that as her cue to follow as well. Her eyes lingered on Michiru's form before sitting down and swallowed the growing lump down her throat as the other girl brought out her textbook, not favoring the blonde with any look whatsoever.

_Great_, she thought. _Akira-san will make fun of me now. _

"_I can't tame my daughter and I'll bet this company that you can't Haruka-chan."_

_Pshh…damn old man…_

Haruka really did think that she could, at the very least, be on good terms with the Kaioh's only daughter. The praises and compliments ran deep, especially in the words of her superiors, so it came as a shock to the blonde when she actually grew ecstatic to meet and, hopefully through time, befriend her.

_Too bad she hates me…_she thought bitterly and swallowed the sour taste accumulating in her mouth down her throat.

The first time Haruka had ever seen her was in a picture in Kenro's study. Curiosity got the best of her so she bravely asked the Vice President who the small girl that the rather expensive looking picture frame surrounded. Since that time, Kenro never gave up an opportunity to tell the blonde stories about how he and Akira met up and their pre-TWE days whenever she wasn't too sleepy at night. She especially paid attention though when he spoke about the cute little girl with curly aqua haired tresses and deep ocean blue eyes.

"_She's the most respectful, most elegant girl I know!" _Kenro's voice flitted through her head. _"Akira and Yuriko taught her well. She's very talented in a lot of areas, but she's especially exceptional in painting, swimming, and playing the violin. It amazes me how such a small child who still has so many things to learn can swim as well as a Junior Olympic Swimmer, paint pictures that can astound Da Vinci and Van Gogh, and play the violin so brilliantly, that if Stradivarius was alive, he'd probably make her, her very own personal violin. She's truly a child prodigy."_

And on and on the praises would go. Because of Kenro's story telling, Haruka found that she knew far more things about Michiru than the girl would ever think of her knowing, and this by itself brought a little pride out of her.

_Imagine the look on her face if I ever give her a detailed report on her bedwetting habits._ She rested her head on the top of her desk and grinned. _Or if I told her that she easily and readily confessed sixty three separate times that she stole a cookie even when her mother didn't question her, because she couldn't lie or keep it to herself real well without the gnawing feeling of guilt if she didn't say anything._

"_Why did father choose you anyway? Why couldn't he pick Kensuke-kun?"_

The grin on her face slowly fell as she kept her head down and a little sideways giving her a clear view of the world outside. It was cloudy and the chance of rain was very likely.

She sighed inwardly. Everything about her was readily readable by her two superiors, the father and godfather of the feisty beauty sitting silently beside her. She never hid any facts from them concerning her. Even when she finally accepted that she was homosexual and had a strong attraction for girls, she told them. And they still accepted her. She felt that both of them were like surrogate fathers to her.

_Well maybe not Akira-san since crushing on his daughter would look pretty bad, but Kenro-san is definitely like a second father, _she thought in mild amusement.

The only thing that she ever kept from them was the obvious one. What started out as mild curiosity grew bigger and bigger. Soon her days were spent in quiet anticipation, waiting for that moment when Kenro would pull up a chair next to her and relay her of the day's events, her ears subconsciously picking up anything concerning his goddaughter. It started as an I-wish-she-knew-me type of like, but somewhere along the line, it changed. Before she knew it, the girl, without ever even knowing her, slowly enveloped her in her life. As she looked on in the distance however, her heart couldn't help but twinge at how unrequited it all was. That's all it was… unrequited love. Love? Was it love? She didn't even know. All she knew was that looking from far away hurt, but she also knew that liking the beautiful violinist was dangerous. President Kaioh and Vice President Morimoto were the reasons she was alive now. Who was she to step out of line?

_I'd be nothing without them…_

O-----O

She's been watching Haruka sleep for some time now; the even rise and fall of her breathing gave it away. Her eyes grazed over the sleeping figure next to her as she involuntarily shivered, remembering the way the blonde's eyes looked as she grabbed a hold of Ryu and followed up by pummeling him on her table. They were the darkest green. The violinist has been mesmerized by her eyes since they've met: how they always seemed to sparkle regardless of the situation. Even when she and Michiru argued the sparkle didn't disappear. On the contrary, it lit even more. But the eyes she just saw were the darkest shade of green. It reminded her of what a heavily forested jungle would look like if not a trace of sunlight could pass through the thick trees. They were eyes of malicious intent; killer eyes. She involuntarily shivered again.

_I wonder if she's ever killed anyone._

The bell suddenly rang rousing her out of her thoughts as people started packing up and heading off to their electives, gym, or orchestra/band periods. Haruka however did not wake up.

"I will see you later Michiru-chan," Hokuto waved as she left for gym class.

Michiru smiled and waved back as she spotted Ryu narrowing his eyes at her. To her deep annoyance, he got up from his seat and started making his way towards her once again.

_God does this idiot not know when to give up? _Her mind screamed in frustration. Outwardly, she frowned and sighed loudly.

"Unless you want a stool protruding up your ass for the duration of the day, I'd advice you to go to your gym class Tsuma-kun," a deep, but sleepy mellow voice stated coldly beside her.

She turned to see Haruka yawning and stretching languorously like a cat. Ryu got the hint and stalked out of the class.

"God, does that guy know when to give up?" the blonde asked her voice laced with the deepest hint of irritation.

Michiru smiled, but didn't say a word. Instead, she grabbed her Stradivarius and with Haruka behind her walked to the elevator that would lead her to the orchestra room level five, situated in the thirty-fourth floor.

"Why do you bother taking orchestra as a subject when you know you excel on it already?" the blonde asked while shoving her hands in her pockets.

They entered the elevator as Michiru pressed the correct floor number.

"For me, it's a form of relaxation." Much to Haruka's surprise, Michiru actually spoke back without biting words. "School, especially this one, is stressful. I like to think that during the long seven hours that I have at least one subject that I'm actually looking forward to."

Haruka nodded understandingly. Silence followed as the rumble of the elevator took them to their needed floor, but surprisingly enough it was a comfortable one. The elevator ride took thirty more seconds when finally it binged open to the Orchestra floor. As they stepped out, the violinist suddenly stopped and faced the taller woman.

"Thank you, by the way," she said softly and bowed.

Haruka looked at her passively. "It's my job Kaioh-san."

Michiru smiled at the too automatic response, but shook her head. "I want to apologize about the way I've been acting towards you. What you said during lunch was correct. I was the one who was disrespectful. I'm normally not like that, but it's been hectic since the incident and one thing led to another. I don't know what possessed me to start acting the way I did, but nevertheless I am truly sorry for the way I've treated you." Her voice was soft and genuine, a gracious and apologetic smile tugging the corner of her lips.

The blonde could only return the same emotions. "Well then, I guess I should be sorry too. I was aware that it was a rough transition for you and my attitude didn't make it any better."

"Let's start over then," Michiru grinned. "Just so we're in the same page. I'm Kaioh Michiru. It's nice to meet you."

Haruka's smile widened as she decided to play along. "It's nice to meet you too. Tenoh Haruka."

Their hands touched for the second time for their second handshake and Michiru was pleasantly surprised to feel the softness of the taller girl's palm that she hadn't felt the day before. She imagined because of the nature of her job that Haruka, with her hard features, would be physically strong and rough as well, but the soft hand enveloping hers proved her to be wrong. Haruka's small, almost shy smile and grateful emerald eyes already made her feel sorry for delaying this second handshake.

"So does this mean I still have a job?" Haruka asked jokingly.

Michiru laughed causing the bodyguard to grin. "Yes Tenoh-san, it does mean that you still have a job."

She gazed at the tall girl and their eyes locked momentarily, the latter stiffening under the younger girl's deep blue eyes.

What was it about this beautiful woman in front of her that caused these sudden bouts of anxiousness to form within?

Haruka's face visibly relaxed as her body moved an unnoticeable amount forward. Michiru catching the awkward scene before her broke the eye contact and looked away, a blush quickly forming on her cheeks.

"I—I'll be late for class," she said softly with a stutter.

The blonde gulped as she looked away as well. "Oh, right. Le—let's go."

They stood rooted at the spot for several seconds before Michiru took the lead and led them to a room at the far end of the hall. Haruka opened the door for her and she smiled gratefully, noticing as she entered that the rest of the class, consisting just ten others, was already there. The bell rang as they took their seats and Yamada-Sensei, the orchestra instructor, cleared his throat as a sign to begin.

"Tenoh Haruka-san?" he called while reading the name off a cue card.

"Yes?" the blonde asked as she stood up.

"As you know, this is the level five orchestra class. Kuukaku-Sensei, teacher of Orchestra Four was the one who heard you play yesterday and she clearly thought that your skill was higher than what she taught."

Michiru looked up at the standing figure beside her, surprise and a hint of amazement written on her face.

"Okay, is that a problem?" Haruka questioned.

"Let me hear you play and I'll be the deciding factor in whether you'll be staying with us or not. I can tell you now that I expect nothing, but the best people in this class. You're surrounded by students who are already at the peak of their career or just starting it. I am not an instructor who will just accept anyone for…the money that they put in."

Haruka raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and walked to the front of the room where an elegant, black, baby grand piano sat waiting for her. She felt the eyes of the class staring at her as she sat on the bench and pulled the lid up and out of the way. Her fingers grazed over the smooth, cold, ivory keys as she looked up at the rather strict and straightforward teacher.

"What would you like me to play for you?"

"Chopin's Revolutionary Etude in C Minor," the instructor said with a sharp smile.

A lot of the students inside gave him a questionable look.

"Would you like the music sheets to look at?"

Haruka smiled and shook her head. "It's not necessary." She lucked out…he chose for her to play a piece that she had mastered because it was the favorite of a certain superior. She placed her fingers on the correct keys, looked straight up, and began playing.

Only ten seconds into it and Yamada-Sensei was in awe. He himself took close to forever in playing that relatively difficult piano composition by Chopin and even more time to play it without the aid of music sheets. Yet here was another child prodigy, barely even an adult, playing his favorite composition with the fluid, grace and stature of a lifelong pianist. He shook his head in disbelief.

When Haruka finished up, she opened her eyes to loud clapping and a slightly dazed orchestra instructor. She didn't doubt her ability to play the instrument before her, but her eyes found themselves sweeping the room for the violinist, the only person whose opinion she cared for. To her delight, said girl favored her with an impressed look and joined in the fray of clapping. Pride surged within her as she stood up next to Yamada.

"So am I in?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

Yamada gave a breathless sigh and gave her a smile. "Welcome to level five orchestra."

She bowed to him and walked back to her seat where a smiling Michiru met up with her.

"Ara, you surprise me," Michiru said with mirth. "And here I thought you were only a brute bodyguard with a mean streak. In reality, you have a musician just dying to get out of you."

Haruka smirked. "I wouldn't say dying. Plus I believe Tsuma would've kissed you by now if I wasn't…brute enough."

Michiru could only smile. Inside, she was enjoying their little back and forth banter.

_I should've befriended her sooner_, she thought with a sigh only she could blame on herself. _Who knew one of father's bodyguards could be so easygoing? Even Kensuke-kun is too stiff sometimes, but Tenoh-san…she's just relaxed. Like she's already comfortable with me, although I'm sure she's heard from others that I could act spoiled and arrogant._

"If you don't quit staring, your eyeballs are liable to pop out of your sockets."

The violinist quickly looked away, a blush creeping on her face. Then, her body did something that her mind would never have let happen if it had enough time to process the decided action. She slapped the taller girl's arm playfully, like a flirting schoolgirl.

Haruka shot her a cross look, but was betrayed by the grin on her face. "Oww… what was that for??"

Michiru didn't answer back, keeping her eyes locked straight at the instructor.

"I was afraid for your eyes. I swear they looked like they were about to pop out!"

"Am I going to have to separate you two? Kaioh-san? Tenoh-kun?" Yamada's booming voice suddenly questioned from across the room.

The two teens looked at him in embarrassment as the whole class turned to them. They shook their heads in unison.

"No Sensei."

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

The day, thank God, was finally done. Haruka stretched her hands up and swung her bookbag behind her, a content smile clearly evident on her face.

She was happy. Very happy.

Not only was she and Michiru talking, they were actually on good terms. At that point, nothing could make her feel better.

"So what're your plans for the day?" she asked looking at the girl walking beside her.

Michiru looked up at the grey sky with a pondering look. "My day consists of meeting up with my manager to talk about the next charity event I'm participating in. That will probably take up my whole day. I have dinner plans with a conductor from the Okinawa Symphony as well. They wanted to do a joint performance with me to raise funds for cancer. Finally, after dinner I'll go back to my condo since I have homework that's due tomorrow. I'll be finishing that before tucking in. That's about it. What about you?"

Haruka grinned at the question. "Well, apparently my day consists of watching over a certain musician while she talks things over with her manager, has dinner with a conductor, and by the end of the day, hopefully get answers from her for the Modern Japanese homework since I basically slept through the entire period."

Michiru laughed freely, filling the air with its melodious sound. "Sorry, but you're on your own with the homework."

Haruka gave her a look of hurt. "Oh come on!"

The other girl uncharacteristically stuck her tongue out and walked faster. Haruka grinned. She would never have guessed the usually confident and serious girl to be so playful.

As they exited the school, Michiru looked up at the tall blonde and asked, "Should I have called my driver?"

The blonde in turn shook her head and fished out her car keys from her pocket. "Nope, I remember where your manager's studio is located and I've read up on where you usually go. For dinner, you can just tell me where you'll be meeting the Okinawa Symphony guy and I'll drive us there."

Michiru nodded and followed Haruka to the open parking lot. The alarm was turned off to a silver Ferrari F 512 M and Haruka acted the gentleman part by opening the door to Michiru's side. She smiled gratefully, sat down, and placed her school bag and violin case behind the two seats. Haruka stepped into the driver's side and promptly drove them out of the lot and to Michiru's studio.

Inside the car, Michiru helplessly kept staring at the blonde. The enigmatic presence Haruka had made Michiru all the more curious about her as time wore on. Not the type of curiosity that stemmed off of fear or suspicion like she felt the other night, but more of a get to know for the sake of wanting to know. At first glance, she believed the pianist to be stiff like all the other bodyguards, full of incredibly stupid rules or restrictions, but after the initial ice broke between them, she made surprisingly good company. Haruka readily joked about her, her words and her actions, and the jokes only fueled Michiru to return them. It's strange coming from a very cautious girl like her, but she felt as if they've been friends forever in a matter of hours. Yet, although the other girl was very fun to be around, the violinist still couldn't get around the fact that she knew close to nothing about her bodyguard.

_If I ask, would she just tell me?_

Her brows furrowed as she looked out of the tinted windows.

"You seem awfully quiet," Haruka's husky voice snapped her from her reverie. "Is something the matter?"

_Yes, I want to get to know you, but I can't do it without being blunt or sound imposing!_ Michiru's mind screamed, but outside, her head calmly shook back and forth. "I'm just thinking about…stuff…" _Lame…_ she berated.

"Ahh."

Michiru looked sideways back to the blonde to see an amused grin pasted on her handsome features.

"Stuff huh?" Haruka continued. "What kind of stuff? Like…_ "Kensuke-kun" _stuff?" She even made a rather good imitation of the aquamarine haired girl's voice as she said what she thought to be a pretty revolting name.

Michiru's eyes widened as a faint blush reddened her cheeks.

"No!" she exclaimed. "I'm just thinking about random things! Just…stuff!"

Haruka laughed. "It was a joke Kaioh-san. I didn't mean anything by it." She paused slightly, gripping the steering wheel of the vehicle before continuing. "But if you do like Saiki, then you just do. There's nothing wrong with that…"

Michiru didn't notice the grin fall slowly as she registered what the blonde had just stated. Mulling over it, she thought about her "feelings" for the said boy and found that, yes, she did like Saiki, but definitely not in a way that she was attracted sexually to him. As a friend? Sure, why not? Maybe even a brother. But as someone who she could turn to for love and support, she highly doubted it. She's never had a boyfriend; her schedule and the people around her made complete sure of that. Nevertheless, she was a romantic and believed first loves as something to be thought over and cherished with not a doubt in one's heart. She just couldn't see Saiki as that person she could be with. He was just a friend, nothing more.

She was about to put into joke the realization her mind came up with to the blonde beside her when the car abruptly stopped. She looked shortly out the window as a short reply of, "We're here," came from the tall girl and before Michiru could even say anything, she had already left the car.

From inside, the violinist looked on, wondering what had caused her bodyguard's sudden mood change.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

Over the years, she's been taught to always mask her feelings.

_"If you learn how to do that successfully Haruka-chan, you won't ever fall prey victim to those who see showing how you feel a weakness."_

After long years of arduous training, she was dubbed by her superiors as "Iceman." She was always cold, uncaring, collected, calm; her real feelings never showed on the surface. That face alone scared the living crap out of people who were seen as hostile to TWE's future and in essence had to be "put down"; her killer face. And right at the present moment, she was giving that face to Saiki.

"What do you want?"

She can see it just from the way he looked at her. He could pee his pants at any given moment.

"W—where's M—M—Michiru-san?"

_Now he calls her Michiru-san? I leave for a freakin' day and he's already calling her Michiru-san??_

Haruka's eyes grew darker, turning into slits. "She's not here." And slammed the door on Saiki's face.

"Tenoh-san…" came a stern voice from inside and the door opened to reveal a smiling Michiru. "Kensuke-kun! What brought you to stop by?"

"M—Michiru-san!" a smiling and blushing Saiki greeted. He saw Haruka in the background with her arms crossed, giving him eyes full of daggers. "Can we talk somewhere in private?"

Michiru looked behind her at the blonde, then back to Saiki. Ever since they got out of school, she's been living up to the meaning of her name. Michiru already missed her teasing, fun side.

"Can it wait, Kensuke-kun? It's really late and Tenoh-san and I are just starting on our homework," she dodged.

Saiki looked somewhat disappointed but nodded nonetheless. "Okay. Well, I was just checking if you were alright—

"And why shouldn't she be?" Haruka's angry voice cut through their small talk.

Saiki gave her a cross look. "This conversation has nothing to do with you Tenoh."

"Oh I think it very well does," Haruka stated coldly, pushing off of the wall she was leaning against. "Why else would you come here if you're not checking up on whether _"Kaioh-sama's daughter"_ has already been killed by the unknown bodyguard?"

"I never said that!" Saiki yelled.

"Kensuke-kun, Tenoh-san…" Michiru called with a shaky voice.

"But you damn well thought it!"

Saiki gave her a look of distaste. "Everyone at the Defense Division is suspicious about you! You come out of nowhere to protect someone straight out of the Kaioh family right after Kaioh-sama's been shot when there are more than twenty other different guys in the whole of unit four who's more than trustworthy!"

"I see. So this crap is a matter of trust?"

"You damn right it is! I don't trust you and neither does anyone else in the DD!"

"Well you know what?" Haruka gritted her teeth as she cleared the space within them in a couple of angry strides. "The case of my loyalty and trust doesn't have to be cleared by you or anyone else in the DD." And for the second time that day, she slammed the door on Saiki's face.

Haruka was livid. Never in her whole life had she been so disrespected to her face than what Saiki just had just the balls to do. She was contemplating on opening the door and go after him just to beat his body all over the bloody town when she felt a hand touch her forearm. She turned around, her face twitching in anger as she saw Michiru giving her a worried expression. Seeing the deep blue orbs filled with concern, her anger slowly dissipated.

She clasped her fingers to her temples to ease a throbbing pain that's been creeping up on her since that afternoon. "I'm sorry about that Kaioh-san."

Michiru shook her head and gave a smile, even if it was a rather worried one. "It's alright."

"You're thinking it aren't you?" Haruka asked deciding not to be blunt. She may not care about what the entire DD thought of her, but the trust of the violinist she swore to protect standing before her was paramount.

"I can't help, but feel a little curious Tenoh-san," Michiru replied softly. But before Haruka could reply back she continued, "But if my father trusts you, then I trust his judgment. There's no reason why he'd place someone to care for me if that person wasn't someone he trusted wholeheartedly."

Haruka smiled genuinely at the words spoken by the other girl. "Thanks. That means a lot."

"But that doesn't mean that you're off the hook in telling me more about yourself," Michiru stated smiling slyly.

Haruka could only smirk.

The day had been tiring for the both of them. Like Michiru had said, they spent the majority of the day in the studio and then had dinner with the Okinawa Symphony guy who annoyed Haruka to hell.

_"That guy was rude,"_ _she remembered stating to Michiru._

_She had given her a soft, sad smile then and replied,_ _"Sometimes there are people like that who think more about the money than what the event is actually for. I try not to think about it. Father always gives money to charity, but I like to think that I do things as well. As long as the cancer patients benefit from it, I don't mind."_

Since then, Haruka had tried not to act too moody.

They walked back in the living room where their homework was strewn on the glass coffee table surrounded by white leather sofas. They both sat on the sofas and continued on their calculus assignment.

"Are you sure you don't mind me staying with you?" Haruka asked again just to double check.

"Tenoh-san, unless you're really not a girl and we're anatomically different, I don't mind you staying with me," Michiru replied exasperatedly, but then smiled wickedly. "You really are a girl aren't you?"

Haruka blushed, her green eyes widening. "Of course I am! There's no reason why I should lie about that!"

Michiru smirked and placed her homework from her lap to the coffee table. She then proceeded to slide her body all the way to the other side where the cute flustered blonde sat and placed her hand gingerly on the taller girl's thigh. Haruka's breath caught.

"Would you like to play a game…? Haruka-chan?" she asked seductively.

Haruka's mind was spinning so quickly around in circles that she didn't even realize how the smaller girl just addressed her. All she could concentrate on was the warm hand on her thigh that was doing a rather good job of incapacitating her.

_Calm down. Calm down. CALM DOWN TENOH._

She managed to remember some of the words Michiru just spoke and asked in a daze, "G—g—game?" She was surprised she could still talk.

"Yes, a game," Michiru continued, an evidently widening smirk pasted on her lips. "It's called, 'I'll show you if you show me.' It's designed so this dark cloud above us called anatomical difference would disappear. It'll answer any of my unspoken questions…and then some."

Haruka could only gulp. Their eyes locked for ten seconds, shocked emerald greens and mischievous dark blues until Michiru finally broke it off by laughing.

"Tenoh-san I was just joking!" She continued to laugh as Haruka finally got her brain to the speed of the present.

Michiru's intoxicating smell flittered away as she slid back to her original spot, the same smile still pasted on her face. This girl was going to be the death of her. The worst part was she knew it. Michiru knew that she could illicit a response from the otherwise passive blonde; bring out sides of her that no one has probably ever witnessed. Haruka could tell from that smile that just wouldn't disappear. This job was going to be harder than she thought.

"And what're you still smiling about?" she grunted putting her attention back to her homework.

Michiru looked back at her, the smile never wavering. "I'm smiling because I like the fact that you're so easy to get along with."

Haruka rolled her eyes, not wanting to be fooled by the statement.

"It's true. It surprises me that we have so little in common, yet we're able to stand one another. I don't even really know you, but I have this discernible feeling to trust you unconditionally. Your eyes give you away. They're very protective eyes."

The blonde was rendered speechless. Michiru only gave her a smile before going back to her homework.

AN: Before anything, I'd like to clarify the only Japanese word that may not be familiar to all readers. "Tenkousei" means transfer student and that's just exactly what Ryu called Haruka. As I was writing it, it seemed weird for a person as arrogant as Ryu's character to know a stranger's name full on and like other titles, it would've been weirder for him to yell, "Transfer Student!" as he was calling her, so I kept it in Japanese…plus doesn't it sound cooler in Japanese? For some odd reason there are just some words that are just labeled "cool" when you put it in Japanese…ok enough nonsense… So yeah, there's the third chapter. If anyone would like to know, I didn't stop playing video games…they're too addicting, but I promise a steadier flow in updates so no one will berate me about it. BUT if anyone does want to talk to me about the story…don't hit me up in msn or aim like normal people… go play world of warcraft, make a character in smolderthorn realm, and send Selece a tell. XD j/k you don't have to…I'm just being a dork.

Seafoam-pulse: I appreciate the long review… I really like reading em hahaha. Glad you like Haruka…I do too…she's hella sexy. :P As for Akira's recovery, you hit it spot on. I'm no doctor and bullet wounds are probably hella hard to recover from, but I wanted to show his strength and pride. I was actually a little scared of the café scene…I thought maybe the girls or Haruka were ooc and why the hell did I add that scene there, but if you liked it and no one else complained about it…hell why should I complain? As for Michiru, I hope this chapter sort of showed her real character more.

LaylaBinx: thanks and I hope I updated soon enough.

Petiyaka: I'm glad it was worth waiting for.

Smartieox: ZOMG YOU SHOULDN'T JEOPARDIZE SCHOOL FOR THIS. My girlfriend and I actually cracked up when we read your review. Well I'm glad you weren't late for class and I'm updating on a weekend so I hope that goes well with your schedule as well…but then maybe you'll be in a hurry to go to church or something. NEVERTHELESS it'll be here when you get back. Thank you for reviewing and I can't stop playing video games for the life of me -cry-. (oh and sorry for the overuse of caps)

LitaDelacour: We'll learn about Haruka a little later on. I'm glad you're curious about her because a lot of questions will be answered…and probably much more than you wished was answered.

Mystlady: thank you for the pleasant review and I'm glad my story's one of the abnormal H&M stories that you decided to sit down and actually read.

Bibi3758: Your curiosity to know Haruka's past will be satiated…I promise.

Mantaray: I'm sorry, video games are too fun to let go. I'm glad you like the story though and I'm glad I make you want to read. There's not a better compliment than to hear that I made someone _want _to keep reading more.

That was pretty long… This may be a little late, but I'm sorry if some readers get annoyed with these long author's notes. The main reason why I answer the reviews here is to first say thanks to all reviewers who took their time and wrote a thing or two, and to answer any questions regarding the story. At times the same question will be asked and unfortunately I'm too busy to reply back by email (not to mention too lazy to keep typing the same answers over and over) so this is the perfect place for me to explain myself. If anyone does have a question regarding the chapter or storyline please don't hesitate to ask…I hope I'll know the answer… Until next time and please, per usual…read and review so I can have a one sided conversation with your pen name when I update the next chapter.

On another note, if you have never heard Revolutionary Etude, the piece Haruka plays on the piano, you should listen to it..I personally don't play the piano, but it sounded hella hard to play so that's the main reason why I chose it.


	4. A Matter of Trust

Chapter 4: A Matter of Trust

It's been a week since her father's shooting—five days since Haruka's come to live with her. Michiru now saw how stupid it was for her to even attempt to stop Haruka from living with her. The blonde made surprisingly good company. She was like the fix Michiru needed to turn an otherwise boring day into something exciting.

"Good morning Kaioh-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan," Haruka yawned from the guest room door way where she boarded.

Michiru smiled at her roommate. "Morning. Did I wake you up?"

Haruka nodded tousling her standing hair strands while doing so. "You should take advantage of sleeping in the weekends, not getting up earlier than usual," she grunted and plopped face down on the sofa.

The other girl chuckled. "Well actually, I have the whole day off today and I was hoping we could just go out and relax."

Haruka looked up at her surprised. "No meetings with Fukui-san or the annoying Okinawan composer?"

"Tenoh-san," Michiru stated her voice laced with playful chastising.

"What? I can't help it if the guy's an ass!" Haruka shrugged.

Michiru smiled. _She's so cute in the morning._

She stopped her preparations in the kitchen and walked over to the long sofa where Haruka laid. Seeing as the blonde had successfully taken over the entire length of the sofa, Michiru gave an outward smirk and followed up by sitting on her back, finding it surprisingly comfortable after a few seconds.

"Oh, am I taking up the whole sofa?" Haruka sleepily asked as she felt the weight of Michiru's body pressed against her back.

"If I'm not hurting you, you don't have to move," Michiru stated as the taller girl's messy blonde hairs attracted her attention.

In the time span of five days, saying that they were relatively close was an understatement. It might've been their shared interest in many things, the playful banter that neither wanted to cease, the fact that Haruka _had_ to be near her at every second of every day, or the simple truth that said girl was dangerously attractive, physically and personality-wise. Michiru had the feeling that all those factors, not just one, played a role in her comfort level growing tremendously high, so much so in fact, that she almost felt the need to always be around her. Subconsciously, they had both reached out and grabbed the other's attention during school or glanced at each other as one of them was busy inside the studio. These kinds of repeated actions became so frequent that her, doing what she was doing now, became the norm. The only time that they weren't in close proximity of one another was in their bedrooms, and that was saying a lot since they were rarely there, choosing it as a place only for sleep.

The fact that this happened really surprised her, to say the least. After the first day that they had been reacquainted, she knew that she had already made a friend. But unlike Hokuto, Haruka struck her differently. She didn't have to try to say things to her, she just did, and that kind of freedom felt refreshing. Around everyone, even the only person she could call a friend in Mugen, she had to keep up some kind of façade: the confident, calm, and almost cold visage she's been able to sport for what felt like years. The root of this emotion's devoid from her memory, but she's always felt the importance of it as her safety cushion from everyone else. In the safety of her own home, away from prying eyes, she could shed this part of herself for a few hours, and could go on again, relinquishing the fact that no one really knew the real her. With Haruka, this was hard.

She couldn't try to keep the façade up…her bodyguard would notice the too sudden difference in her personality because of her natural observant behavior and how Michiru herself had already began acting around her. She opted then to make the blonde the only exception and be herself around her, but still acted very reserved to everyone else. Much to her surprise, Haruka hadn't asked her why she was very carefree when in their condo and almost uptight at school. She already somehow understood. She understood that Michiru needed to show a different side to everyone that she met.

In the middle of the school week, Haruka had rounded her with a very wide, playful smirk on her face. She had looked at her questioningly as the blonde replied, "Hmm, I wonder why I don't see you laugh enough at school?"

They stared at each other then, the blonde's face a still smirking one and Michiru's one of confidence. Of course, Haruka hadn't needed an answer—her statement already pointed what she wanted proven. Because of that and many other factors involving the blonde, Michiru had concluded that she didn't have to be afraid of showing her real side, and that kind of feeling made her cherish the other's company more than anything.

Blinking away her thoughts, the smaller girl again noticed the standing short blonde strands and smiled slyly.

_Hmm, will she mind if I just sort of run my hands through them? I know they'll just go back to being messy, but it's so…tempting._

Her right hand went up in mid air, when Haruka suddenly grunted. "Okay, yeah, you're getting pretty heavy."

Michiru gave a harassed look and playfully slapped her back. Haruka laughed as the smaller girl momentarily got up so she could turn to her side. She once again sat on the sofa this time with her back touching the blonde's stomach.

"You're still sleepy," Michiru noted as she observed the other girl's half lidded eyes.

At that, Haruka gave a big yawn and smiled. "What're you talking about? I'm wide awake!"

Michiru chuckled and got up.

"Aww, where are you going? I was about to use you as my blanket."

_Yup, she's definitely cutest in the morning. She says the funniest thing when her brain hasn't comprehended the situation or what she's said._

She looked back at her bodyguard and noticed that through her musings, the blonde had already fallen back asleep. Michiru shook her head and with a soft smile placed a blanket over her.

She wanted to go on a picnic. A nice, wholesome, your everyday normal picnic. The basket that she was filling earlier in the kitchen before Haruka came in already consisted of sandwiches, fruits, and drinks. She even brought out a red and white checkered blanket to finish the ensemble, folding it and putting it up over the basket to conceal the food. After one last glance at the sleeping girl on her couch, she went to her bathroom to take a shower and changed.

She decided to wear the yellow sundress that she and her mother bought the last time they shopped together. Finishing the outfit with a red ribbon around her hair and sandals in her feet, she came out of her bedroom to find the tall blonde already dressed in her usual polo and slacks, sitting on the couch she was earlier snoozing on.

"Ara, and here I thought you were going to sleep all day," the shorter girl couldn't help but tease.

Haruka grinned. "Ara, and here I thought you were going to take close to eternity in finishing your shower."

Michiru smiled and pulled Haruka out of the sofa and into the kitchen.

"We're going to spend the majority of the morning and afternoon in Lake Hikari," she stated and pointed at the basket for Haruka to take.

"There's no stopping you," Haruka muttered playfully, causing Michiru to put one last item on top of the already piled high blanket: her art supplies. She gave Haruka, who was now scowling, one last smile and led the way out of the condo.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

It was a nice warm day. The sky was blue and the weather didn't give off an autumn season day like it was supposed to, opting to be more like spring.

"This kind of weather is good in this time of year," Haruka observed loudly as she unfolded the blanket and laid it on the dry grass.

She looked at the seemingly placid lake and gave the place a good look over. Lake Hikari was a good mile or so around and was shaped like a crooked circle. A cement path encircled the outside of the lake for joggers, bikers, and exercisers alike and nothing but trees and grass surrounded the very nature like atmosphere. It was a little place of peace in the middle of a very busy city.

"Yes, that's why I wanted to take advantage of it," Michiru stated softly and sat on the blanket.

Truth be told, she didn't mind going anywhere as long as Haruka was there with her. She must admit that she's gotten pretty attached in a short amount of time.

_If this threat on my family is ever going to pass, will Haruka just—_

"Are you hungry?" she asked barring herself from thinking about what just graced her mind.

She gazed at her bodyguard and sensed the tenseness in her body language.

"I'll eat later," the blonde said distractedly and looked at the other side of the lake.

Michiru got up from her sitting position, stood next to her and gave a worried glance. "What's wrong Tenoh-san?"

The violinist's words finally brought Haruka out of her reverie, giving the girl a surprised look. "Oh, it's nothing, Kaioh-san." She immediately felt bad for making the other girl worry and good-naturedly put her arms around the other's shoulders. "You know, now that I think about it, I am hungry. What did you prepare for us?"

Michiru subconsciously cuddled in to her small embrace and answered, "Sandwiches, fruits, and drinks."

"Great!" Haruka replied a little too enthusiastically. "Let's dig in." She gave one last fleeting look towards the other side of the lake when Michiru turned to the picnic basket and joined in preparing the food.

After eating, Michiru proposed that they walk around the lake. The park by then was filled with many people, it being a Saturday and the weather being the best it could be for that time of the year.

They walked close to each other, hands brushing every now and then, but much to Michiru's disappointment, Haruka was lost in thought and too tense to play around with.

"Tenoh-san," she called after they've walked about one hundred meters in complete silence.

Haruka didn't answer, her thoughts too occupied on a still form in the other side of the lake.

"Tenoh-san," Michiru tried to call again, but still in vain.

Her bodyguard would neither turn her way nor answer.

"Haruka!" she stated firmly knowing calling her by her first name was the only way to grab her attention.

The blonde finally turned to her, question evident on her face. "Yes?"

Michiru was annoyed. She looked at where Haruka had been staring for the past couple of minutes then turned back to the blonde. "Has a man caught your attention or something?" She knew it sounded ridiculous, but she couldn't just very well make assumptions since the blonde had shown no interest so far in any of her classmates, guy or girl.

The blonde was taken aback by the other's sudden statement. "A man?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, a man. You've been staring far into the distant for the longest time like you're checking out some guy," Michiru stated matter of factly.

Haruka cleared her throat. "For your information, no, I wasn't staring at a—well actually…" she looked back at the man on the other side of the lake.

Michiru followed her line of vision. "Liar," she stated softly.

Haruka looked back at her and noticed a hint of jealousy in her tone. _Jealous? Why should she be?_ She waved it off and rushed to catch up to a now striding Michiru.

"Kaioh-san," she called as she caught up.

She grabbed the shorter girl's arm which caused the aqua haired girl to turn around abruptly. "Why don't you go over there and introduce yourself Tenoh-san?" she stated icily.

Haruka looked down at her, slightly frowning. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing," the violinist spat. "But if I knew you were going to come with me to the park to check out people instead of doing your work, I would've—

Haruka suddenly laughed loudly causing Michiru to get even angrier. She quickly walked away from a hysterical Haruka, confused and angry more at herself for feeling the way she did for no apparent reason.

"Ka—Kaioh-san!" Haruka called again when she noticed that the other girl had stomped off once again. Haruka jogged to her and bravely embraced her from behind. "Stop walking away from me," she said her voice turning husky.

Michiru stopped immediately, her eyes widening in surprise as she felt the other girl's arms wrap around her protectively. The warmth from Haruka's body sent confused messages to her brain. All she knew was that what she felt now, in between Haruka's protective embrace, was very different to how she felt a week ago when Saiki held her from behind. That, she felt, was weird and uncomfortable. This made her relaxed and warm. Without thinking, she leaned back into Haruka causing the top of her head to touch the bottom part of Haruka's chin. The blonde felt a smile tug at her lips.

"If I let you go, will you listen and not stomp off?" she asked in an almost pleading voice.

Michiru felt her embrace loosen slightly and before she could think it, stated playfully, "I don't know. I'm not guaranteeing anything."

Haruka grinned and propped her chin on top of the smaller girl's head smelling in her clean scent. Her hold around the girl strengthened as she stated in fake exasperation, "Alright then, I guess I'll just have to do this the hard way."

Michiru suppressed a grin as they began walking slowly in a synchronized manner.

"For your information," Haruka began, "I have been doing my job."

"Ara, watching men is a part of it ne?"

Haruka smiled and bopped her chin playfully on top of the violinist's head. "Yes, if those men are people I consider strange or out of the ordinary, then it is my job to be watching them."

Michiru looked around the park at family members, kids, joggers, boaters, and exercisers and raised an eyebrow. "I don't see anyone suspicious Haruka."

Haruka grinned. "Just plain Haruka now is it? You're getting awfully comfortable there Kaioh-san!"

Michiru poked her in the ribs. "Don't get out o the subject. And for your information, I only call a select people that way so either you take it or I'll keep on calling you Tenoh-san forever."

"Alright, alright!" Haruka said in mock surrender. "If I knew living with you would make me one of your selected, chosen friends forever, I would've moved in a long time ago."

"You're getting out of the subject again."

"Heh." Haruka pulled Michiru closer to her so that her mouth was near the shorter girls' left ear. "I didn't want to tell you this, but I noticed a guy following us ever since Tuesday morning when I drove us to school."

Michiru's eyes widened in disbelief.

_That couldn't be though_.

She's always prided herself in her ability to scope out her surroundings. Nothing could ever be done behind her back without her fully knowing what to do with the situation—she always knew when someone was trailing her. So what had happened for her to drop her guard? In the past she has always known when she was being followed, the majority of the time being her father's idea. When comparing those instances to this she had not at all felt the presence of a third party in the week that she's been living with the blonde.

_Am I getting rusty?_

She felt her bodyguard's hands link together at the base of her stomach as she felt warm and protected all over again.

_No,_ she realized. _Haruka's just protected me so well that I somehow subconsciously dropped my guard._ She frowned at the thought, but let it go as she heard the pianist talk again.

"I thought it weird so I began writing logs on the days when I'd see him and so far, he hasn't missed a single day. He's been following us to your studio, where we eat, and practically everywhere. The only place I don't see him in is the school and that's probably because no one can enter that isn't a student."

"So you've been staring because…"

"He's here in the park. He hasn't changed position and if he stays there, we'll cross paths with him in probably ten minutes."

Michiru felt her heart quicken as she looked around panic stricken.

"Act nonchalant. Don't look so suspicious," Haruka's mellow voice streamed into her ears. "He's the one underneath the v shaped trunk of that one cherry tree."

The violinist looked straight ahead and quickly looked away again. "The one wearing the black shirt and cargo pants?"

"Yeah," Haruka answered. "So, here's my plan."

Michiru leaned in to listen closely. She mentally smirked as she felt the other girl's female outlines. _Yup, Haruka's a girl. I can feel it._ She came tumbling back to the reality of their situation as she heard said girl start speaking.

"When we get directly across him I'm going to dash out and pin him to the ground. I haven't seen him with any accomplices during the entire week so I'll rule out the possibility that he's working for someone…he would've slipped by now. Once I take him down, I want you to run to my side immediately."

Michiru nodded, but stopped midway. Suddenly, panic took over her as she counted the numerous ways that "plan" could fail. "Wh—what if he has a gun?" she voiced out one of her many concerns.

"If he has a gun, there are about a hundred witnesses here that can prove to the authorities that he was the one who shot me."

"Haruka!" Michiru yelled and abruptly turned around. She gripped at the collar of the blonde's polo and looked at her, fear evident in her ocean orbs.

"I'll be careful, I promise," Haruka firmly stated and locked eyes with her.

"Call someone for backup or something. I don't want you doing this by yourself!"

"Kaioh-san—

"Michiru!"

Haruka was taken aback by her sudden outburst. "Fine Michiru…san…this may be our only opportunity. By now he's probably getting suspicious as to why we're just idly standing in the middle of the park. I can get him."

"I have no question in your abilities Haruka, but I can't just let you go after him alone," the violinist cried hysterically.

"Yeah, but you'd let Saiki go after him if he wanted," Haruka muttered under her breath.

Michiru heard her and much to her surprise, nodded and agreed. "Yes. Yes, I would let Kensuke-kun go after him. You know why that is Haruka?"

_Note to self_, Haruka thought inwardly. _Put Michiru in tense situations as little as possible. _"No, Michiru-san, tell me why is that?" she asked outwardly.

"Because I don't care what happens to him." Michiru narrowed her eyes as she realized just how cold her words came out. She looked at her questioning bodyguard and shook her head. "Ok, hold on. I do care, but I care more about what happens to you."

Haruka smiled and sighed. "I appreciate your concern Michiru-san, but trust me when I say that, that guy is not going to touch me in any way that he'd want. Plus, what kind of a bodyguard would I be if I didn't do this?"

Michiru looked at her with burning eyes. Haruka could just see the debate going off in the smaller girl's head by the look of those eyes.

_Why do you care so much?_ she wanted to ask, but couldn't get it out. Yes, they have managed to be pretty good friends in that small amount of time, but Michiru must've realized that first and foremost, she was her bodyguard, not her classmate, roommate, or friend.

The debate ended in Michiru's mind as she closed her eyes and composed herself. Dejectedly, she nodded. "If something happens to you…" she barely whispered, not being able to finish her sentence.

The blonde smiled and playfully stroked a strand of the other's shiny curly hair. "I haven't broken a promise yet and I assure you that I don't plan on starting now."

Michiru nodded rather weakly and turned back around. They continued walking again, this time in silence and she felt Haruka embrace her tighter as a sign of reassurance. She placed her hand over Haruka's and failed to notice the other girl blush heavily. All that was racing through her mind was for this day to be over and hoping Haruka was still with her by the end of it…unscathed.

They walked far enough that they can both see the man. He was in his mid twenties with brown short hair and medium build. He wore, just what Michiru earlier noted: a black shirt that hugged his body and brown cargo pants. He was as tall, if not taller than the lean body behind her, but definitely had more muscle tone.

"Please be careful Haruka," the violinist said softly as Haruka's embrace began loosening.

"I will," was the short reply before Haruka dashed to the unsuspecting man.

His eyes doubled in size as he realized that he'd just been caught and immediately got up from his sitting position to race out of the park. Before he can even turn his body around, Haruka was already behind him. She grabbed the closest arm she could get her fingers around and pulled it across his back, the same way she had done to Ryu. As he stopped and doubled over in pain, she took her free right hand and shoved him on the ground. They both fell unceremoniously; the man pinned on the ground with one of his hands still behind his back barred by Haruka's knee and Haruka on top of him having the situation under her full control. He felt her grip him on the neck and push his face deeper into the mud while her free foot pinned his other hand, crushing it into the bruised grass. By this time, Michiru had run to Haruka's side, glad that it was over, but feeling a little sorry for the obviously pained man beneath her.

"Okay, tell me who you are and no one gets hurt," Haruka grunted.

Michiru inwardly thought that it was too late, but opted to stay quiet, listening for a reply from the man.

He chose to remain quiet and continued to struggle underneath the blonde's restraints, so instead of waiting for a reply, Haruka pushed his face sideways, giving her a good look of his features.

"Haruka, people are starting to get suspicious," Michiru stated softly from beside her, but Haruka didn't hear her.

She narrowed her eyes as she stared at the man's mud smudged face, leaned in, and growled dangerously, "If you don't want to get fired, you better explain yourself."

The man gulped, eyes wide.

He nodded as Michiru looked on in surprise. "You know him?"

Haruka looked at her, anger evident from her gritting teeth and narrowed eyes. "Yeah... his name is Yuka Toro, one of the lower ranked members of the DD."

Michiru's eyes widened, realization dawning on her. Suddenly, everything made sense. Why Haruka has been seeing him since Tuesday and why she couldn't help, but be suspicious of him.

_"One of my lower ranked comrades' taking a sabbatical," _Saiki's voice said in her head. _"If Tenoh does anything, he'll be there in a blink of an eye."_

_Oh no,_ the aqua haired girl thought as she saw the anger over boiling off of Haruka's composure. _Haruka's going to get so angry._

"Ha—Haruka?" she called.

Haruka stood up from the floor, but kept her hands grasped on Yuka's shirt. "Yes, Michiru-san?"

Michiru looked at her with her mouth opened, brows furrowed. She momentarily closed it, but it opened again as if she was trying to say something, but just couldn't get the words out.

The blonde gave her a look of concern and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yes," she managed to answer, her voice soft and unsure. "I…I know why he's been following us."

Haruka looked at her, a look of betrayal coming over the other girl's confused features. Her eyes narrowed at the current situation as her head began the easy task of adding and subtracting. _Akira-san and Kenro-san wouldn't have made him follow me_, her mind conceded. _They trust me too much. Plus, he's weak. He's barely able to fight me off, even if he does look stronger._ She looked up at the now guilty face Michiru sported and put two and two together.

"You've been making him follow us." The steeled, forced voice coming out of her mouth didn't show the crumbling feeling she felt inside.

"No!" Michiru yelled. The edge in Haruka's voice was effectively making her discomfort and guilt grow. "Y—you have to listen to my explanation Haruka. Please don't just jump into conclusions."

Haruka's brow furrowed as she gazed at the lake. She was pissed. She clearly thought that she was making progress in befriending the young Kaioh, and yet all this time she's had someone following them to make sure she was alright.

_She doesn't trust me…_

The painful realization struck her heart, making it throb painfully. Her jaw clenched at the thought, but otherwise made no outward look of tribulation.

"Haruka, please listen to me," Michiru's pleaded.

"If you don't mind Kaioh-san," Haruka said dryly looking at her with angry and hurt eyes, "I'd like to know Yuka's story first."

Michiru felt a pang of sadness as she noted the way Haruka just called her, but even more so as she saw how the girl before her look away with the pain in her eyes speaking more volume than any words could. She gulped in the growing lump in her throat and merely nodded at the taller girl's request.

By this time, many of the people watching the growing spectacle had moved on to whatever they were doing originally.

"Get moving," Haruka grunted, pushing the man ahead of her. "We're going to my car."

Yuka was by far taller, bigger, and older than Haruka, but underneath the cold, serious exterior, the young man knew: Tenoh Haruka was a not a person to be trifled with. Her voice held a high authority like inflection whenever she spoke and the fact that he was caught so easily, when he was supposed to be a part of Unit two, the Espionage Unit, left no doubt in his mind. This Tenoh person was one hell of a good bodyguard, even better than most of the highest ranking armed escorts in the DD.

Once they got to the car, Haruka pushed him to the almost nonexistent space behind the two seats and after making sure the violinist was seated and comfortable in the passenger's side, sat in the driver's. She turned the car on and with anger, pelted out of the parking lot and blasted into the streets, leaving tire marks on her waking path.

"Ha—Haruka!" Michiru called as the car crazily passed by other cars with ease.

They were going seventy five on a thirty five mile per hour strip and the blonde gave no indication of slowing down anytime soon. Instead she took her eyes off the road and glared at Yuka from the rearview.

"Talk!" she ordered.

Yuka looked at her reflection and gulped. _Why the hell are her eyes so freakin' dark?_ he thought and was aroused by his thoughts when the blonde grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him forward.

"Why aren't you talking?" she growled dangerously.

Yuka's eyes widened as the blonde before her kept her eyes on him and not on the road. "I—I was sent to follow Kaioh-san! To make sure you didn't hurt her!"

Haruka's eyes turned into slits. "Who gave you the orders? Was it Kaioh-san?" She gave Michiru a dark look as Michiru looked back at her with scared blue eyes.

"N—No, it wasn't Kaioh-san. But she knew," Yuka stammered.

Haruka gritted her teeth in frustration and drove the car faster. A hundred. A hundred and ten. "So much for all that talk about trust ne?" she muttered. Michiru looked liked she would reply back when she continued, "So who is that sent you then?"

"Sa—Saiki-kun."

Haruka smirked, but the anger coupled with the smile made it look almost sadistic. "Why didn't I expect that?" she sarcastically retorted as she looked at Michiru. "Deep down, I think I did. I just didn't want to think that you really had a part in it."

Michiru looked back at her now with disbelief and anger. "I told you not to jump into any conclusions. Give me time to say my part in it!" she yelled. She couldn't believe how childish the other girl was acting.

Suddenly, the car stopped locking both seatbelts and making Yuka's face smash against the back of the seat. Haruka wordlessly got out of the car and moved on to drag Yuka out who was sporting a bruised nose. As Michiru got out, she looked around to find that they were at the base of TWE.

"What're we doing here?" she asked and followed a striding Haruka into the building.

"We're here to dump some garbage," Haruka answered roughly, took a keycard from her wallet, and proceeded to swipe it at a special elevator at the side.

As the door opened, she pushed Yuka in and closed it after Michiru stepped in as well. The shorter girl saw her press a concealed button in the far corner of the panel and the elevator suddenly started going up. One minute later, the elevator stopped and opened to the outside of an office where her father's entourage for the day, consisting ten bodyguards, appeared in view. This, the violinist remembered, was the outside of her father's office. She remembered vaguely coming in once to speak to her too busy father. The decorations, it seemed, hadn't changed one bit.

Haruka grabbed Yuka by the collar and dragged him into the room of bodyguards. They all looked on at the blonde as she shoved the young man to the floor in front of a white, pale Saiki.

Haruka's eyes bore into his as she snarled, "You dropped something."

Saiki gulped and helped Yuka off the floor.

"Maybe you should've asked someone else to do your dirty job for you," the blonde continued. "This guy was such an amateur, I noticed him following Kaioh-san and me the first day."

Saiki chose to ignore her and instead spoke to his friend. "Are you feeling okay?"

Before he could see or hear Yuka's answer however, he was shoved roughly to the wall. His head banged against it as he felt Haruka's hands grab his shirt collar.

"When I talk to you," Haruka yelled furiously, "you damn well make sure you answer back!"

Saiki pushed her off and immediately, the rest of the bodyguards came in between them, breaking off a suspecting fight.

"Don't touch me," Saiki whispered dangerously. "I have nothing to say to you."

"And what, may I ask, is going on here?" a voice boomed from the elevator.

Everyone immediately stood straight up and greeted in complete boy-scout unison, "Good afternoon Commander Toriyama."

Toriyama Syusuke was a built man towering over six feet. His face was rough, almost always wearing what looked like a scowl and his hardened features made him a fearful man to reckon with. His broad shoulders and built figure was festooned with the trademark black power suit and instead of the blood red tie, he wore a bright yellow one, symbolizing the difference between the ranks.

In TWE's Defense Division, otherwise known as the DD, there were five separate ranks. The lowest and hence, weakest unit consisted of security guards for TWE's main building and the Morimoto and Kaioh estates. They sported the black suit and pearly white ties. The second unit consisted of the espionage team, where Yuka Toro belonged. They wore the black suit with metallic blue ties and only on special occasions, like spying missions, would wear anything differently. The third of the ranks consisted of the Intelligence Center. Their attire was that of the motif black suits and orange tie. The fourth rank was where Muro and Saiki belonged: the President and Vice President's entourage. They exhibited the black suits and blood red ties. Finally, the last is the Commander's rank, black suit, yellow silk tie.

Toriyama's face turned into a deeper frown. "First of all, my question was unanswered. Second, what is an espionage member doing in front of Kaioh-sama's office?"

Saiki stepped forward to answer. "Tenoh brought him here sir."

Toriyama glanced at the stoic blonde who made no effort of greeting him or denying the allegations. "Is this true?" he asked.

Haruka locked eyes with him and answered coldly, "I don't have to answer to you."

Some gasps elicited from behind her, but she hardly cared. She was livid and doing her best to keep her thinning composure in check. The bodyguards looked back at the commander who, to their surprise, nodded hesitantly.

"No, you don't," he replied, his jaw clenching slightly.

This caused further looks of shock and confusion among Akira's entourage as Haruka gave the commander a look that could kill.

"Remind Saiki Kensuke what his place is in the DD. Have him recount to you what he's done to interfere with my job and tell him to never do it again. If I find that he does do it again, I'll deem you unfit to be second commander and fire him and you myself. Do we have an understanding?" Haruka ordered in a steely voice.

"What the hell?" Saiki muttered in confusion what the rest of the unit was thinking.

"Understood." Toriyama bowed slightly and gave her a cross look.

Haruka walked past him, took an equally perplexed Michiru by the waist and headed to the elevator. She gave one last look at the second commander and unit four and closed the elevator door.

The elevator ride back down could only be called one thing to Michiru and that was uncomfortable. The silence between them was thick and Haruka wasn't breaking it, much to the other girl's dismay.

They exited the building still in that suffocating silence and boarded the silver Ferrari. Once inside, Haruka didn't start the car. She merely furrowed her eyebrows and stared straight ahead, her lips thinning at every second that passed.

"Can I clear my side of the story now?" Michiru asked deciding to take matters into her own hands.

Haruka sighed and rested her head on the steering wheel. She gave the violinist a sideways glance and after a while nodded.

"That night last week when you were gone, Kensuke-kun and Muro-kun, as you know, were my escorts…" Michiru started. "Kensuke-kun told me about this friend of his who was taking a sabbatical. I didn't know you then Haruka, or else I wouldn't have given him the go ahead to have that guy come and follow us around."

Haruka looked away from her and down at her feet, looking very tired all of the sudden. "Why didn't you tell me about him then?" she asked.

Her voice wasn't boiling with anger as it was ever since the incident at the park started. In retrospect it was laced with confusion and hurt. Michiru could've stomached the former emotion because then she could take a livid and out of control bodyguard. But upon hearing the pain in the taller girl's voice, she simply crumbled in her own guilt.

"I forgot," she answered lamely.

Haruka nodded and clarified a thought that's been nagging her ever since the mess started. "So it's not because you don't trust me?"

Michiru shook her head vigorously, eyes widening in surprise. "No, that was never the case! Haruka, ever since we reintroduced ourselves, I already considered you a friend. As I said before, I was curious about you…I still am. But that doesn't stop the fact that I see you as a trustworthy friend."

Haruka gave a genuine smile and looked back at her.

"I'm sorry for forgetting," Michiru said softly, her voice still laced with the guilt she felt inside. "My schedule got too hectic and it became the last thing on my mind. I mean maybe it would've been the top priority for me to know if we didn't become friends, because then I would've still been suspicious of you, but…" she trailed off not knowing what to say next.

Haruka shook her head as the smaller girl quieted. "Let's forget about it."

Michiru looked at her and rested her forehead on the other girl's slumped shoulders. "I'm sorry Haruka-chan," she stated playfully, a soft smile gracing her beautiful face.

Haruka looked at her and smiled wider. "I told you to forget about it," she replied and nudged Michiru's head playfully.

"I can't though," Michiru said sadly. "I got you mad for no reason…"

Haruka leaned back into the white leather seat causing Michiru to lean into her shoulder. When the girl didn't budge and actually rested her head to a more comfortable spot, the blonde embraced her with her right hand and sighed contentedly. "So what can I do to make you forget it?"

The aquamarine haired girl laughed good-naturedly. "Aren't I the one who's supposed to ask that?"

Haruka turned to face her, their faces inches apart. "Actually, I'd like to tell you more about myself," she said tenderly. She looked up thoughtfully and smiled wider. "How did you say that? I'd like…this dark cloud above our heads called "distrust" to completely disappear."

Michiru grinned as the memory of last week's events filtered in her head.

"Will you forget it if I do that?"

The violinist smiled and nodded in agreement. "Okay, but you're getting the short end of the deal."

"I don't mind." She proceeded to turn on the car and drove, at a slower pace than before, back to the park. When they arrived, the picnic basket and all their belongings were still where they left it.

"Sit or walk?" Haruka asked.

There were more people out now than earlier and Michiru didn't want them to be bothered by exercisers who needed to get in between them so she opted at the other choice.

"Sit." And followed up by sitting down herself.

They picked a relatively nice spot; the shadow of a cherry tree completely shaded them from the hot sun. Haruka followed suit and grabbed a chilled coffee drink from inside the basket.

"Where to start?" she asked as she gulped down the mocha's contents.

Michiru looked at her and smiled, realization dawning on her. _No one except the closest people to her know what she's about to tell me._ A surge of pride overtook her as the first question that's been gnawing at her since she met the blonde popped out of her mouth in quick succession. "Why don't people at the DD know you?"

"Only people who I deem are important at the DD know me. Since Commander Toriyama is the only one I deem important, he's the only one that knows me," Haruka answered rather simply.

Michiru nodded. _That makes sense._ "I just want to clarify my hunches…" she continued.

The blonde gave her an inquisitive look and continued drinking the mocha.

"What's your place in the DD?"

Haruka smirked. "What do your hunches tell you?"

The shorter girl looked at the lake and back at the blonde. "Well, from what transpired today at my father's office and how you completely shut down who I thought was your commanding officer, my hunches tell me that you're higher in rank than he is. And since I heard you call him "second commander" earlier, I'm guessing you're… first."

"…Correct." Haruka smile and laid down on the blanket, keeping herself propped up on her elbows. "I guess you could say I'm the brains behind the operations. Whenever situations arise, like your father's shooting for example, I'm the one who gives orders to Toriyama about where everyone in the DD should be stationed and he in turn barks my words to everyone else. Without the assistance of your father, Kenro-san and in certain occasions, even Toriyama, I create the plans, strategies, and overall operational procedures. As the Commander, that's my job."

"But, why don't you expose yourself to everyone as to who you really are?" Michiru asked questioningly.

The blonde just shrugged. "Part of me believes that most won't listen because of my age and what they believe to be inexperience. Plus, most people already believe that Toriyama's the main commander. As long as he knows he isn't running the DD, I'm fine with the way things are now."

The shorter girl nodded understandingly, happy to know that Haruka, as most people are with that kind of power, didn't turn vain. "So, how did you get that spot in the first place?"

Her bodyguard grinned and jugged the rest of her coffee down. "Oh wow. Now that's a long story to tell."

Michiru leaned against the trunk of the tree and smiled at her. "I have all day and since I have all day, I know you do too."

Haruka's grin widened as she threw a grape at the sitting girl. "Fine, but if you get bored, just tell me."

AN: Yay, the best part…author's notes… who cares about the story right? It's all about the AN :P So the next couple chapters will be the unveiling of Haruka's past. In the start of it all I didn't want to make it too long, but as writers know, sometimes imagination can go a little overboard and you write much more than you should've. I guess that's a valid statement when it comes to Haruka's past…by the time I'm done telling who she really is and how she fits in the story, you'll probably be tired of it…so I'm just putting that out as a little warning. There will be little to no H&M interaction as well because Haruka's storytelling is all about her, so I'm warning you guys about that too. In case anyone's wondering right now if reading about her past will be important, I guess that's in a matter of opinion. You'll get more in-depth information about her, but at the same time some of you might feel it can be discarded information…I wrote most of it for the fun of delving into another genre and because it gave me a good placement for character development (and not just for Haruka, but other original characters as well). Some of what I'm saying might completely put off some of you from reading the next couple chapters, but I felt a warning was in order in case I get -constructive criticism- asking me what the point was in creating a whole other story concerning Haruka with no Michiru in sight. K, now on to the other best part…having a one sided conversation with pen names :D

Mantaray: Glad you liked the banter part and updating every weekend looks promising. Editing the story probably takes more time than writing it and I hate putting chappies up that seem unfinished so I try to take my time at it.

Haruka's Knight:D I'm happy that my story got you happier. One of the best aspects I feel my story has is the comedy and as I was first deciding on the genre, I thought I would put romance/humor…but when I looked at it more, I managed to cross genres quite a bit so instead of just having humor, drama, angst, action/adventure, or mystery as the second genre, why not put general…hence the romance/general story genre. I hope you feel better and I hope this chappy at least made you smile…not a lot of comedy in this one.

Smartieox: There's no winning w/ you…I guess you're a busy person who always has somewhere to go so all I can say is thank you for having the time to leave a long review even when you're busy and about to step out. As for Michiru being flirtatious…you're right…I only noticed it after your review, but I was building her up as this pretty cold, I-could-care-less character and I sort of shattered that all in a couple paragraphs. –sigh- can't win em all I guess, but then again I'll just finish with Haurka _does_ have the power to make her that way so it's mainly's Haruka's fault and not mine. O.O;; You're not nitpicking…those kinds of mistakes like accidentally leaving out an apostrophe or missing an "s" and spelling are a few of my pet peeves. As I said to Mantaray I probably put more time in editing a finished chapter than writing the actual chapter itself. It's funny cuz I've read this chappy countless times and yet, as you pointed out, there's still one or possibly two mistakes that I missed… no beta so what can I say? If you do see anymore mistakes, please feel free to point it out. I'd appreciate it.

RaginFireDesire: Thank you :D

Petiyaka: I like fun and witty writing. It's much easier to write than drama

MilenaOne: Curiosity only kills cats, not us so I'm glad I got you curious to read it. Hope I'll maintain it though.

LitaDelacour: At this point of my story, Michiru actually doesn't know which fence she plays in at the moment. A lot of factors surround her so that she hasn't been able to test out any sort of relationship (guy or girl) so her reactions to Haruka are just her basic emotions. As for Haruka losing her job and making Michiru never see her again :\ I would not have a story to write, hahaha so I'm not putting that up as a plot. You'll get a heavy dose of Haruka in the next chappies…hope you get all you want outta her.

Prince of the oceans: I hope I'll be able to do so and thank you for sticking to it.

Seafoam-pulse: I personally like stories where they don't move too fast so I promise there'll be a lot of touchy, huggy, feely, but not to the point where they're spouting sonnets and singing I love you's…yet. I hope you liked Saiki's contribution to this chappy…I think it's the most he'll be making throughout the rest of the story :D

On one more note, Haruka will be addressing Michiru with a -san at the end in the majority of this story becuase of their almost employer-employee relationship. Haruka understands that first and foremost she is only a bodyguard and her ward is her boss' daughter, so respect is highly expected. Just wanted to say that in case someone gets tired of her calling Michiru, "Michiru-san" or feels it's really out of character. As I said in chapter one, honorifics are highly used in Japanese culture. The misuse or not using one at all at the end of a person's name is either an insult or the respect of that person has been gained to the fullest (some of the time, it's even used between lovers as Haruka and Michiru do in the anime). Just thought you'd like to know.


	5. Haruka's Past and Trials Part I

Chapter 5: Haruka's Past and Trials Part I

This part of town was broken, abandoned; the home for the homeless; the so-called "boulevard of broken dreams." Here was where the poor and dirty, without anywhere else to go, congregated. Where physically and emotionally lost children almost always littered the sidewalks. Where people who wanted to hide could cloak themselves into the shadows easily. Lastly, here, was also where a seven year old with short, messy, dirty blonde hair stood freezing, hungry, tired, and lost.

_I knew I shouldn't have left the orphanage_, she thought bitterly to herself and walked into a dark, empty alley.

_"Her parents were killed instantaneously by gunshot wounds to the head. Fortunately, their child hid well and wasn't noticed. It was just a robbery gone wrong,"_ the police officer's monotonous voice said as it crept into her mind.

She hated that voice—it solidified all things she hoped was false. She didn't care that they had caught the suspects. She didn't care that they would be put to jail for life. She could care less if they died right now before her. It wouldn't bring her family back. Nothing will.

She continued to trudge into the dark alley, the stench assaulting her nose roughly and the bitter cold making the exposed parts of her skin prick out. She had been walking the whole day with no specific place in mind—just as far away from the orphanage she'd been dumped into after the incident as possible. It didn't take her long to figure out that she was in a bad side of town; the darkness had, first of all, made her fearful and second, suspicious. It felt like every step she made was being watched. In all her life, this was also the first time she had ever been truly alone. As she escaped the orphanage that morning, she didn't think about the consequences a little girl could face alone in a big, dark world. Now, just thinking about it made her shiver because of how real the situation was. But she was tired. Of all things, she was dead tired, so even if she was in a bad place, her body could not keep going anymore than she wanted to.

She finally stopped and sat down on a dirty, folded cardboard box already adorning the ground, curling her knees to her body as she did so to conserve what little warmth was left in her system.

_I know I shouldn't have left, but that old hag was just too mean. _She sighed and pulled the small grey sweatshirt she wore down in an attempt to cover her sore legs as well. She opened the small backpack that she carried from the orphanage and looked at the contents.

_No matter how many times I look, there won't be a coat…so why do I keep looking?_ She zipped it close again and looked up at the moon with a sigh. There was not a cloud in the sky and the stars were twinkling brilliantly, but it was winter. Already she could see the dark puddles on the ground freezing over and if she breathed hard enough, she could also see the small white puffs of air coming out of her mouth. Leaning her body against the cold brick wall behind her, she momentarily closed her heavy lidded eyes and rested her head.

"Here, I saw someone go this way."

And just as the drowsy feeling came, it left, replaced by the fast pounding of her beating heart. She stood up in alarm as she squinted her eyes to have a better look in the dark. Two boys in their pre-teens walked into the alley and eyed her as she gave them a look of surprise.

"Aww, it's just a kid," one of them adorning a dirtied hat muttered as they got closer to her.

"Yo wait. He's got a bag," the other one noted.

They stepped closer, making her backpedal in reflex.

"Yo kid, what's in the bag?" His accented slang would've been funny to her if she was in another town and another situation, but the sick feeling in her stomach as she looked at her present situation didn't alleviate her fear.

"N—nothing," she stammered, immediately hating how obviously scared she was from how her voice reached her ears.

The one without the hat took another step towards her. "Why you lying kid?" he asked with a frown.

"I—I'm not lying. I don't have anything that you'd want!" she cried hysterically.

The first boy, without word, quickly ran to her pinning her on the ground easily, while the second pulled the backpack out of her cold grasp.

"Leave that alone!" the young blonde yelled and struggled underneath the stronger boy's lock.

He ignored her and quickly went over the contents, his frown deepening as he delved deeper and deeper. He pulled the contents out and tossed them haphazardly on the dirty floor distaste showing clearly on his grimy visage.

"Wait a sec," he grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the angry face Haruka was sporting. "Did you just order me around?"

The other boy laughed almost cruelly and nodded. "Oh, I think he just did Sato."

Haruka quickly shook her head, her mouth closing in rough succession.

The tall boy's features darkened, his hand diving into the now empty backpack. "You know, I haven't had a decent punching bag in a while," he stated and began wrapping the thick material around his enclosed fist. "This ain't no boxing glove and you ain't no punching bag, but I think I'll settle with what I have. Pin him down. I think a little lesson's in order in teaching little kids when to shut their mouths."

The one with the baseball cap nodded vigorously as Haruka felt his rough hands enclose on her elbows even more. She grunted out in frustration and tried wriggling out of his grasp, failing tremendously.

She was scared. In all her life, she remembered feeling even more scared in just one other instance as the taller boy's shadow danced over her body and his backpack enclosed fist smashed into her left cheek. And just like the time when the masked men pointed their guns at her resting parents, she didn't scream. Not when he repeatedly pounded every part of her face, nor when she felt the trickle of thick liquid running down her visage, each punch feeling like an explosion of searing pain.

Simultaneously, her mind insisted in recalling that bloody night that changed her life. How she had heard strange noises so she walked to her parents' bedroom, only to see two strangers with their backs to her, pointing their guns at her wakened parents. How she had stood frozen in place long enough to lock eyes with her surprised father momentarily. How with those same dark green orbs and in a passing second, he managed to give her a look as if he was clearly yelling at her to hide. How one of the men started turning around to cautiously look over his shoulder, just as the elder male Tenoh leapt out of his bed in reflex and…

_Bang!_

As her head ricocheted from the impact of the most recent assault, a lone tear trickled down against the side of her face, mixing with the thick red liquid that had already accumulated. She was numb. Emotionally, physically, and mentally. A minute or so passed, her eyes still seeing the blurred outline of her parents' familiar, bloody room from inside a small closet and still, the boys before her gave no hint of stopping. Then, just as white dots finally began dancing in her line of vision and her eyes began rolling to the back of her head, an angel of mercy yelled out from the lightened end of the alley.

"Hey! What're you kids doing?!"

She felt them stop quickly in fright, her vision coming back to the speed of the present enabling her to see the one pinning her down with a sadistic smile still frozen on his face.

"Let's jet," the one with the backpack grunted and both frantically ran to the other side of the alley, not giving the injured blonde a look back.

.Haruka heard them jump the fence separating the alley from another as the footsteps of her savior broke into a run, coming ever closer. She tried propping herself up with her elbows, trying to look stronger than she undoubtedly did not, but to no avail—the pain was too excruciating and had seemingly traveled from her face to the rest of her body. In no time she collapsed back down on the dirty cardboard, dirt from the surrounding area caking her flailed arms.

"Damn it, what the hell is wrong with kids these days?" the man asked to no one in particular and touched Haruka's bruised face. "Hey little one, don't get up. I'm going to take you to a hospital okay?"

This mysterious man's sympathetic, warm, comforting voice and touch reminded the little girl of her father. Her _dead_ father. Before she knew it a stream of tears poured from both sides of her eyes. Finally, after two long weeks of silent mourning, she let her buried emotions out. Far worse than the pain in her body was the one buried in her heart, where the memories of her parents, both loving, caring, and deeply affectionate, were forever gone. She felt their betrayal for leaving her alone. For making her grow up too quickly in a world she hardly knew.

_I hate them. _Her breathing became harsh and difficult, but even that did not stop her outward anguish. _Why did you have to leave? I hate both of you._

And yet, she knew she didn't. She loved them, as only a child can love her parents.

"Tou-san…" she called weakly in between deep gasps of breath and hiccups. "Kaa-san…"

"There, there. It's okay," the man's voice called out and picked her up easily from where she laid. The strong, warm body made her curl to it for support as she tried to steal a glance at the face that she desperately wished looked like her father's. But her eyes had finally simply refused to open up. "Your eyes are all puffy," the man explained, seemingly able to read her mind. He didn't have the heart to tell the already hurting child that her whole face, not just her eyes, was completely swollen and bleeding.

He carried her to a waiting car, laid her head on his lap and proceeded to gently stroke her bloodied cheeks. He barked at the driver to take them to the nearest hospital and amidst the rumble of the car, the warm leather seats, and the soft hands touching her face, the blonde child finally passed out.

O-----O

A flurry of footsteps awoke the Good Samaritan as his best-friend and co-worker appeared in the doorway of the waiting room, his hair disheveled and his face a tired mess. Getting woken up at one o'clock in the morning wasn't sitting well with him. Even more so was the reason for the too early phone call from his best-friend.

"Akira," the Samaritan greeted and stood up to hug the man who just arrived.

"I know what you're thinking Kenro," Akira sighed, feeling that getting to the point was crucial. "But it won't bring Sakura and Yumi-chan back."

Kenro grunted out in frustration. This is exactly what he didn't want to hear. "It's not about them Akira!" he yelled. "Th—this girl… she has no family. She has no one. And yet she just went through hell. First her parents die and then she gets beaten in the streets by two kids who are twice her age and size. She—

"What does she look like?" Akira interrupted.

Kenro swallowed and shook his head, his eyebrows knitting together as he looked away.

"Answer the question Kenro. What does she look like? Because I have the craziest notion that she's a girl, about as tall as your waist, has blonde hair, and is most probably a tomboy," Akira stated matter-of-factly.

"It's all just coincidence…" Kenro mumbled.

"It's not Kenro," Akira pressed. "I praise you for your good deed, but I know you. The moment you saw her, Yumi-chan flew straight into your head didn't she?"

Kenro shook his head, but didn't verbally answer.

"They're gone Kenro," the aqua haired man stated softly. "This unknown child won't bring them back."

"I don't care," the other man stated. His voice held no room for dispute.

Akira sighed again, scratching the back of his head in frustration. He hated it when his best-friend acted like this.

"I want to raise her. She has no family and neither do I. I want to make the right decisions this time. I want to be the father that I couldn't be back then."

The aquamarine haired man saw the look of determination in the brunette man's eyes and shook his head. He knew now that the other man couldn't be stopped, not with that look upon his face.

"Morimoto-san?" a doctor called from behind, causing both men to look up at him. "She's awake."

Kenro got up and immediately walked in the next room, his best-friend trailing slowly after him.

Haruka sat on the hospital bed in an upright position. Her messy hair was covered with patches of gauze and some cuts on her face were laden with mini stitches. Her face was still a bit puffy, but much to Kenro's relief, not as much as it was before. When she saw the two men enter the room and noticed the very bloody spot one of them had all over his white dress shirt, she silently got up from her hospital bed, kneeled down on the cold tile floor, and bowed down until her forehead touched the cool surface. Kenro and Akira could only look on in surprise.

"Thank you," her tiny voice squeaked out and right after, she got back up and sat back down on the bed.

"You're very welcome," Kenro said softly, feeling that this stranger, that reminded him so much of his late daughter, had already claimed a piece of his heart.

"I remember your voice," Haruka said and tried to smile, but instead her face contorted into a grimace. "Thank you again for your kindness."

Kenro waved off her words and smiled genuinely. "I didn't get your name."

"Haruka," the blonde answered. "Tenoh Haruka. I…I want to repay you for your kind acts, but I don't really own anything…"

Kenro's smile saddened as Akira looked on wordlessly. "You don't have to repay me—

"But I do," Haruka cut in. Kenro looked into her eyes and immediately fell in the dark green orbs. "It would be an insult to my father's memory if I didn't do anything to repay you. He always said to give back what was given to me, and I want to do exactly that."

"Your father was a wise man," Kenro stated.

Haruka nodded and looked away, a sad look ingraining her childlike features to look much older.

"I have a proposition for you then," Akira suddenly said in the background.

Kenro looked at him in confusion as the little girl gave him her undivided attention.

"Propo…?"

"Proposition," Akira smiled and pulled a chair next to Kenro, not chancing a glance at his best-friend. "It means like an offer. I have an offer that you might like to hear."

The blonde sat up higher, listening closely as she did so.

"Kenro," Akira stated, pointing at the man who saved her, "technically protected you from the two boys, is that correct?"

Haruka nodded.

"How would you feel if by giving back, you would protect him in return?" Akira asked.

"Akira," Kenro muttered in disbelief, his eyes widening slightly.

The other man put his finger up as a sign to give him a minute as Haruka shook her head. "I'm sorry sir, I'm too young. I can barely protect myself. How am I supposed to protect anyone when I'm so weak?"

"We'll train you," the aqua haired man said simply. "We'll give you the proper instructors and trainers to make you stronger. All you have to do is try the best you can in every situation we throw at you."

Haruka looked at the man thoughtfully, taking his words very seriously. She frowned as she thought over his offer and couldn't find a reason to object it. She didn't have anywhere to go and no reason to stay. She also figured that if the built man had wanted to hurt her, he would've by now, not take her to a hospital where she figured he'd have to pay the bill for her later if he hadn't already. She also gave a once over at the new man, the aqua haired one that was speaking to her like an adult would to an adult—like her father used to do to her when they were deliberating a very serious decision. He really believed that she could do it; his eyes were speaking for him. If this was the only way she could repay them, why not? She had nothing to lose.

A couple seconds later, she nodded her head in compliance. "I accept your pro…po…sition?"

Akira smiled and nodded, giving her his hand to shake to solidify the deal. When he finally turned his head back to Kenro, he saw the other man's livid, angry, and disbelieving face.

O-----O

"That was the only option I saw fit at that exact moment," Akira replied as they stepped outside Haruka's hospital room.

"That?!" Kenro yelled in exasperation, his rough voice echoing through the empty hallway. "Making her into a little soldier was the only option you could think of?!"

"Kenro, it was the only way she would be willing to come with us! Did you really believe that you adopting her would settle everything? I'll answer that question for you, no! Do you know why? I'll answer that for you too since apparently, you're too blind to see it. She has too much pride! Yes, Kenro, pride! Didn't you see the way she bowed down to you? The way she spoke of her father's remnant words? A part of her had already grown up because of the incident that happened to her parents. If you made the advances of adopting her right there, she would've felt she owed you her life. You just saved her once and that was already too much for her to take. If you took her under your wings right there and then, she would never forgive you in the future when she's had to time to think how shady this whole ordeal was because you went ahead and violated what her father taught her even after she told you the fact."

His dark haired colleague looked at him, the angry scowl ebbing slowly from his face as the words sunk in. He could only sigh deeply and look through the glass window at the blonde's sleeping form, not being able to object with anything Akira just said because, being the sensible one out of the two of them, he was right.

"Let her see the adoption as the first of many ways to pay you back. Then, slowly, but surely make her recognize that "adoptive father" isn't just a title," Akira stated and placed a hand over his comrade's shoulder. They momentarily looked at the sleeping child: at her deep even breaths and still bruised, but very serene face. "But you will have to take full responsibility of her, understand?"

Kenro nodded and replied silently, "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Akira smiled sadly, patted Kenro's shoulder, and left him alone to stare at the little girl that looked so much like his late goddaughter.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

Michiru looked at her with disbelief and shock written across her face. "Kenro Oji-san adopted you?" she asked, unable to keep her surprise in.

Haruka nodded. "Those two old men really did trick me. I'm not saying it was hard. How difficult is it to trick a seven year old?" She grinned and looked up at the sky. "They made me believe I was paying Kenro-san back, but in actuality, their good deeds just kept adding and adding. For the first five years of my recruitment, they hired the best teachers to teach me everything I needed in school. The non-stop five years of schooling enabled me to pass the sixth grade at nine and the rest of high school and some college level work at twelve."

Michiru looked at her worriedly making the blonde reached over and playfully push the crease made by her eyebrows with her index finger. "It's exactly what I wanted done, so don't stress yourself thinking about it."

She nodded, albeit slowly as the taller girl suddenly laughed. She looked at her questioningly as Haruka looked up at the already darkening skies thoughtfully.

"There was this one instance when I was taking one of the last tests I needed to earn my diploma and Kenro-san and Akira-san were talking about you." The violinist's attention perked up as a smile graced the tall blonde's features. "Kenro-san was joking about putting you in the same regimen they put me in, knowing fully well that if they did do it that you would pass with flying colors, but Akira-san made the most uncomfortable look. He was like, "Don't even joke about things like that. Do you realize what Yuriko would do?" And then Kenro-san, being who he was just answered simply, "Oh she'd castrate you. There's no doubt about that.""

Both teens laughed loudly as Michiru nodded without hesitation. As the laughter died down, Haruka looked back down to the basket, trying to scavenge for more food.

"Haruka, I think you massacred our supplies," an amused Michiru said as she came back empty handed. The blonde pouted and double checked again, causing the shorter girl to laugh out loud. "Come on, let's get some dinner."

Haruka looked from the bottom of the basket to the setting sun in the background and stood up, enjoying the view the sun made as it dipped lower into the horizon. Michiru stood next to her and leaned her head on her shoulder, staying that way until the sun completely disappeared.

Comfortable. That was the only word to describe the feeling surging through Haruka's system as she felt the shorter girl's head against her shoulder; smelled the flowery smell radiating from her as the wind danced around them, sending some of the girl's long curly strands into Haruka's face. She sighed in ease.

She turned her head to look at the other girl and saw a mirror of the smile on her face on the violinist's. Comfortable and right. Okay, two words that could describe what she was feeling. The smile lowered somewhat as the sun dipped completely down and the shorter girl's head, leaned out of her shoulders.

Michiru took one last glance at the disappearing sun and stood up straighter, feeling a warm sort of contentment fill her. She looked up at her bodyguard and closed in the remaining gap between them, enclosing the taller girl into a hug. She felt her stiffen, but visibly relaxed after a few seconds, feeling her strong hands tighten around her shoulders as well.

"What's this for?" Haruka asked jokingly, looking down at the beautiful face below her.

Michiru merely smiled and placed her head on the crook of the blonde's neck. "Firstly, this is for telling me more about yourself. I know that I'm hardly an important figure so I appreciate you opening up and trusting me about your past."

Haruka smiled and hugged her tighter. _You're very important, _she thought, basking the feeling of having the younger girl tightly in her arms._ You just don't know important you are to me._

"Second," Michiru continued, "this is for having such a rough childhood. I can tell that your parents meant a lot to you. To lose them at such a young age must've been devastating. I'm only glad that Oji-san and Otou-san were there to bring you to us. You are more than welcome in this family."

Michiru's last words shook something deep within the tall blonde. She looked at her in mild surprise and gulped in reflex as the shorter girl looked back at her with her warm, blue eyes.

"Thank you," she managed to say. She didn't know how else she could convey what she felt at that moment. All she knew was that, Michiru, her first and only friend, considered her family and that by itself was more than she could ever ask for. The words coming from her superiors would be nice, but old. She's heard the words come out of their lips already. But to be able to hear the words from the one woman that claimed her heart without knowing it was, truth be told, too much. All she could do was hug her tighter.

They stayed in that position for a couple minutes, basking in the warm feeling of being pressed in each other's bodies until Michiru remembered what they needed to do before watching the sunset. Haruka, with a red tinge across her face, smiled uneasily at her as they gathered their picnic items and proceeded to carry them to the car.

"Haruka?"

The blonde smirked at the way the shorter girl said her name. _I'm no longer Tenoh-san._ Yet another proof that the girl thought highly of her now. That she wasn't just a bodyguard, or worse yet, one of her father's many cronies. She was just…Haruka. "Yes?"

"Where are we going to eat?"

They got in the car as Haruka turned on the touch screen, internet-abled monitor and searched on nearby restaurants.

"There's this place downtown called…Girls, Girls, Girls," she said with a hint of glee.

Michiru glared. "We are not going to… Girls, Girls, Girls…"

Haruka laughed. "Fine, Cosmos then. It's a place in the outskirts of Tokyo Bay."

Michiru smirked at the realization of Haruka's first request. "Well if you really do want to go eat in your first choice of… restaurant, I don't have a problem with it Haruka."

The taller girl blushed as she busied herself by turning on the car. "It was only a joke Michiru-san."

Michiru laughed and ruffled the blonde's hair, noting the redness creeping in her cheeks. "It was only a joke Haruka."

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

The restaurant was jam packed.

"The waiting list is two hours long," Haruka whispered to a standing Michiru.

She nodded and looked around. "Well tell me the rest while we're waiting. Let's get on the waiting list and walk around. There's a garden outside and the weather's still nice."

Haruka nodded, made reservations with extra interest to make them first priority, and they both exited the restaurant, joining some people who were already walking out in the garden.

"So a couple months after I turned twelve," Haruka continued, "Akira-san and Kenro-san began implementing hand to hand combat in my training regimen. You know how the US has training grounds for their military?"

"Yes, for the navy, army, and those other branches," Michiru answered.

"Yeah, well your father and godfather had some friends who were generals for the Navy Seals and Marines and because of unreturned favors, they were more than willing to include me in their training regimen. By that time, TWE was already becoming a booming company and Kenro-san and I came up with the idea of making the Defense Division. I didn't want to stall the finishing touches for the company any longer so I wanted the hardest, but fastest training regimen available.

"In the end it was perfectly constructed so I only had to train with the military for a little more than a year, a few months more with the Navy Seals than with the Marines because they had much harsher methods added in their training menu. They taught me how to do everything: from espionage, tactic implementation, weapon use, hand to hand combat, machinery use, to drills that weren't even in the training menu because of…barbaric reasons. By the end of it, the generals actually offered me a job as a spy, but I of course turned them down—I work under Kenro-san and Akira-san and no one else."

Michiru nodded silently, taking it all in.

"After training, Kenro-san, Akira-san and I immediately started the DD. Toriyama was in his thirties by then and he was supposed to have the spot as first commander since he had the post before me. In the end though, Kenro-san made him and me battle for the commanding post in this five day spectacle that he dubbed "Five Days in Hell.""

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

The helicopter was loud, the reverberating rotary wing beating above them. Nevertheless, Kenro went on.

"Below us, is an island. It's five miles wide all the way around. There are only two bare spots, the northernmost part where this helicopter will land and you Toriyama-kun will get out, and the southernmost part, where we are on top of right now and where you, Haruka-chan, will get out. Once you get out, you will notice only dense forest all around you. Another thing you'll notice is a shack filled with paintball guns of every kind and pellets at both of your the starting areas. You're main objective is to find one another through the jungle and shoot one, clear, kill-shot. Heart or head is all I'm looking for. Any questions?"

Haruka and Toriyama looked at one another with nonchalant expressions and both shook their heads in unison.

The Vice President looked at his adopted daughter with tired, worried eyes. "You ready to jump out Haruka-chan?"

A young, recently turned fourteen year old Haruka nodded, short blonde hairs swaying as she did so.

"Are you sure about this Morimoto-sama?" Toriyama's booming voice asked.

He looked much like his present self, only younger and more built. He was also at least two heads taller than the blonde and two shoulders wider, obviously the more favorable of the two to win the commanding position.

Kenro kept staring at the young tomboy and favored her with a hand going through her golden locks. Toriyama's eyes narrowed at the sign of affection that clearly showed who the vice president preferred.

"Haruka-chan's done as much as you have to deserve the commanding spot Toriyama-kun. I'm only making things fair," was Kenro's short answer.

The built man looked away and proceeded to put on and recheck his parachute pack.

"There are cameras at every angle in the island, by the way so if both of you manage to shoot each other at the same time, we can go back to the cameras and see who gets hit first or who gets hit in a more critical spot. You won't be wearing any pads either, so be careful."

The last words were aimed more towards the young girl as she padded her parachute pack to recheck it over as well.

"I'm off," she stated with a smile and jumped out of the helicopter without a second look.

"Take care," Kenro said softly while a livid Toriyama beside him kept his anger in check and just balled his fist.

O-----O

_How long has it been?_ Haruka asked herself. She's landed on the island hours ago and was getting tired as every second passed. She lunged the paintball-gattling gun off her shoulders and dropped it on the ground as she checked the rifle swung over her other shoulder and pistol on her right side.

Night was coming and already, the many spotlights surrounding the island had turned on.

_I don't want to have to make it go through the night… _she sighed inwardly and climbed the tree before her—one of the many trees she's climbed already. As she got to a branch that was strong enough to hold her, she looked at the surrounding areas which gave no sign of her rival. _How hard is it to spot a guy three times bigger than me??_ She sweatdropped from the branch and climbed back down. She was getting hungry so she stayed rooted at her spot and started consuming her evening rations keeping a weary eye as she munched on the tasteless morsels.

As she finished, she lunged the gattling gun over her shoulder again when a loud splat echoed near her ears towards the tree she was just leaning against. Quickly gaining back her composure, she dashed out of the way with the heavy machinery trailing after her as more splats echoed through the forest, none of them managing on hitting her. As she neared a thick bush, she dived under it and took a peak at the hiding brunette haired man. Neither his head nor body was exposed so the blonde knew she'd just waste pellets if she started firing now.

She annoying slapped a vine that kept getting in her line of vision and suddenly, an idea struck. She took the gattling gun off her shoulders and placed it on the ground before her, still keeping a weary eye on the still hiding built man. Grabbing the vines that hung randomly all around her, she took each one and roped it around the gun, making it hang now in midair. She wrapped a final vine around the trigger, placed a lot of replacement pellets into the gun itself and pulled the vine away. As the vine caused the trigger to be pulled back, shot after shot of paintball pellets zoomed over the general direction of Toriyama. She tied it in place so that the gattling gun kept firing off without her and without another thought, grabbed the pistol at her side and dashed around the surrounding area in a stealthy, but quick manner.

Getting closer, she noticed the older man duck underneath the rogue pellets and ran around it, heading straight for the bushes. She followed him quietly and as he neared his destination, the gun had finally run out of pellets making him step back in reflex and confusion. Probably figuring that the blonde was busy restocking, he pointed his uzis ahead of him and fired nonstop at the bush, coloring it red in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, the blonde slowly and quietly stepped towards him until only five feet separated them. Without another thought, she raised the pistol to her eyes and fired, sending one pellet straight into the back of Toriyama's head.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

"Is he okay?" Michiru asked her eyes wide with surprise and worry.

The blonde grinned and gave a shrug. "He's still alive…"

"Haruka!" the shorter girl cried in indignation and looked at her with serious eyes. "I'm serious! Is he okay? I mean, you were five feet away!"

_She's cute when she's hysterical_. Haruka almost laughed at the thought, but instead gave the worried girl in front of her a smile. "He was knocked unconscious for about ten minutes and it was bad enough to give him a pretty severe cut. If you look closely you can still see the scar from it, but otherwise, he's fine."

Michiru gave a sigh of relief and looked back at the blonde. "So you won the first day then?"

Haruka nodded and continued.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

They were now on a mega yacht, the helicopter they rode the day before sitting on the aft where a built in helipad was located. Haruka leaned on the railings surrounding the yacht and Toriyama was sitting on one of the deck chairs with his eyes closed, prodding his gauze filled head.

"Good job on the first trial…both of you," Kenro began with a twinkle in his eyes.

Toriyama scowled and unconsciously grabbed his head harder.

"You can probably see it by now, but we're heading for a volcanic island known for its many underground and underwater caves. We're going to drive all the way to the western part of it where there's a huge waterway underneath the island itself. You will swim through the three mile waterway without scuba gear—there are many air holes all over the waterway…you can't miss them, so get air from there. At the end of the three mile swim you'll get to rock solid land and a huge wall after a short walk. Climb that wall and after a five mile walk with a lot of traps and contraptions, you'll get to an altar where there's a lone gold bar. Your objective is to get that bar, go through it all again and come back to the yacht. Whoever gives me the gold bar wins."

Haruka nodded absentmindedly. She was beginning to wonder what went on in her adoptive father's head to make him think of challenges like this, but nevertheless thought that she had another challenge in the bag. She was definitely faster at swimming, climbing, and running than her muscular rival who only had brute strength compared to her many abilities, and felt a smile tug at her lips. _Another one in the bag…_

Toriyama saw her smile from his peripheral and gave a cold smirk as well.

When they finally reached the west side of the mountain and rested in front of an underwater cave, Kenro gave each of them a nod to start.

Haruka immediately jumped into the water, reveling at the coolness of it amidst the hot sun that showered her earlier. The tiredness she felt from having no rest from the earlier challenge also momentarily went away as the cold waves washed over her small, lithe body. She gave no outward glance at the splash that emitted behind her and dove underwater to the direction of the cave.

Much to her disappointment, the cool water had only staved off her fatigue for a short moment. Two miles into the dark, shadowy, underwater cave, bouts of weariness overrode her ability to swim as fast as she could normally go. Amidst the silence as she swam up through one of the many air holes to breathe some fresh oxygen in her lungs, she heard the close movement of the other man and made to go faster.

_If I can win three challenges in a row, there'll be no need for the other two._

That in itself gave her the motivation to go faster and in what felt like hours later, swam into a dead end. She propelled to the top and climbed out of the water looking back for no sign of her brunette rival. Sighing in relief and fatigue, she ignored the sounds her wet sopping clothes made as she walked further into the dimly lit cave and after a short trek came upon a rocky wall.

Perking her ears up, she heard the distinct sound of a body coming out of the water and rubbed her tired eyes. Without another moment's hesitation, she began climbing the jutted exterior of the wall with ease, contracting and releasing her toned muscles as she did so. When she reached the top, she gave a small glance at the bottom where a wet and bedraggled Toriyama glared up at her. She gave him a small smile and ran through the last five miles, dodging and stopping only as her small, but refined ears picked up sounds that the contraptions made as she accidentally brushed by them.

Finally, after a grueling task of dodging pointed rocks that protruded from the ground as well as the walls, she came upon a small shrine where a lone gold bar sat on the center. She looked back with her peripherals to see if the other man had arrived yet and to her relief, heard or saw nothing. She grabbed the gold bar and started on back, keeping to the shadows of the walls in order to dodge an arriving Toriyama.

He never came.

Frowning, the tomboy walked through the five miles again and came upon the top of the wall. She looked down below, but found no trace of the brunette, built man. Shrugging, she placed the gold bar into her shorts pockets and began the climb back down. It was much easier than the earlier climb since gravity wasn't against her this time, but as she plopped easily on the ground, she suddenly felt rough hands grab her from behind her neck.

Her face twisted into a scowl as it met with the wall, her nose bruising as it smashed against it.

"Think you can outsmart me huh?" the rough voice of her opponent stated roughly behind her. She felt his forearm snake around her neck as his other arm secured it in a lock, making her breathing immediately hitch as he pulled back easily. "I will not get screwed over by a damn, punk ass, bratty little kid. I don't care if you're Morimoto-sama's child. I will take the first commander title and the first thing I'll do when I get it is make your life a living hell."

His last words came out in a rough whisper as he continually coiled his arms around her neck and proceeded to choke her, cutting off much needed oxygen from going into her system.

Haruka flailed her arms around in an attempt to hopefully stop him, but felt her limbs start failing her, her breaths becoming short and asphyxiated. Soon, the darkness overtook her and she welcomed it with warm hands, finally getting her much needed rest.

Toriyama dropped her on the ground as her eyes rolled back, the oxygen coming back into her system. He checked her pulse and noted that it was still strong and quick.

_Morimoto-sama will kill me if he finds out…_ The brunette haired man narrowed his eyes at the small sleeping figure in front of him. _But I will not lose… not to this kid._

Hoping that he knew the blonde well enough to know that she had too much pride to say a word of what happened between them to her surrogate father, Toriyama snatched the gold bar from her pocket and stashed it in his. Smiling smugly, he gave another check at her pulse and respiration and went back towards the water and yacht.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

"But…but that's cheating!" Michiru cried out.

The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "Kenro-san didn't say anything about not being able to do it—

"Haruka, please tell me you told him," the shorter girl stated giving her an imploring look.

The blonde just scratched the back of her head and gave a sheepish smile. "It was a battle between me and Toriyama. I didn't want Kenro-san to partake in it."

The violinist rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You're too stubborn for your own good. He literally attacked you to win the challenge and you let him get away with it."

"Next," Haruka continued, not giving the harassed girl any more fuel for her fire, "was a more tactical challenge."

AN: Alright so I guess it's become obvious why I warned some people about information regarding Haruka's past. How she got the commander position might be considered unimportant to some, but I really do like the next couple chapters that explain how the whole fiasco came to be and that more than anything is the reason why I'm posting it up. Genre diving is a bit scary, but nothing, but experience comes from it and more of that is always a good thing, not only when writing but for anything else. …That was a lot of "buts" in one sentence… Anyway, the next two chapters are mainly about her grabbing the commander position, how she failed on some and how she succeeded in others. If action/adventure is not for you, I completely understand. Come back around…chapter eight I think?...and it should revert back to more romance than anything. But really…with how I put my teaser out, a couple people should've expected some action/adventure in the story so…-shrug- If you want to read, read and if you don't, I hope I didn't scare you from coming back.

About the spectacle "Five Days in Hell": I got the idea for the first trial from Battle Royale. If you haven't seen this movie… you simply have to. Rent it, buy it, steal it from someone…(maybe not the last one), but something. WATCH IT. It's a good movie. The second trial I guess seems a little Indiana Jones-ish, but it's funny cuz I never really did get into that whole series. The only thing I remember is the big boulder that chases after them, but isn't that the scene everyone knows? Anyway…yeah I have no idea what I was thinking of when I wrote the second trial, but it fit in with the kinds of things Kenro was putting both participants in so it's all good.

Okay, so other than that, I don't really have more to say. I'll post the next couple chapters up quicker than usual because they're sort of transition chapters, but as I said before I really, really like taking my time editing them, so they'll come out quicker, but not that quickly…plus the chapters are a little shorter too so it should be easier to edit. Now time for some pen name convos :D

RaginFireDesire: Yuka got hella pwned…poor guy. I make it a habit to bash my original characters hahaha. Glad you liked it.

Petiyaka: XD Thank you.

Haruka's Knight: Yeah, that part outside Akira's office was my favorite scene in the chapter. Are authors allowed to have favorite scenes in the stories they write? Ahem, anyways –bow- I gratefully accept you adding me into your C2. Receiving a great compliment doesn't get old, so thank you.

LitaDelacour: You seemed the most gung-ho about knowing Haruka's past so I hope I didn't disappoint. Hope the next couple of chapters won't disappoint either.

Smartieox: -Sigh- lk;sfd;lkjdsgljjgldsgdlk;sd was how I felt when I saw that little flaw you pointed out. How??!! HOW COULD I MISTAKE WERE FOR WHERE?? What a nooby ass mistake… -.-;; :D I told you it's one of my pet peeves. But really, don't feel bad when you point things out. It makes the story better so you're contributing. I'm glad you liked the chapter and the shower of praises and compliments are making my head spin. XD OOO and you're not in a hurry?? Very surprising…although posting this up on a school night might be problematic. If anything, ignore it, go to school, come back from school, do your homework, and then read it. XD Or do the more important things you have to do, before reading it cuz really, it'll be here when you get back. :D Oh, and I literally looked at every word this chapter had when I edited it. I seriously hope to any God up there for no nooby mistakes this time… but please if/when you do see it, tell me XD. I'm a masochist what can I say?

Agent-Ayu: Thank you for taking the time to review. I'd like to emulate the Haruka from my story too…she seems so badass, yet sensitive at the same time. XD How does she do it??

Knightlight: XD Thank you. Hope I'm not pushing you away with these sort of "filler chapters".

MilenaOne: You'll get more of Haruka so stick around

Sakurakaze: You dork…you got me excited when I saw a new review only for it come from you. Glad you like it and don't inadvertently give out anything. As for those other fics…it'll be a long while before I go through them again hahaha. Oh, and as much as people would love you posting chappies hella early and without any editing done, I wouldn't and the few people here who would notice the difference wouldn't either, so don't do it! XD I love you too and don't review anymore. It's sorta weird for me to leave an AN for you when I could just say it to you in person, but I don't like you feeling neglected so I did.

Rae: XD I'm afraid I might turn egoistic from all the compliments. Thank you and I'm glad my fic could illicit an emotional response. It's probably one of the best things that happen to me when I read a fic and just like you, I stick til the very end of it…they're very hard to come by.

Mantaray: Can you imagine what her early life was like now:D

On another note, I have never gone paintball shooting so the weapons I made them use probably don't/will never exist. Please make this story an exception and say they exist just this once…or twice 'cuz the next chapter will have original characters using them as well.


	6. Haruka's Past and Trials Part II

Chapter 6: Haruka's Past and Trials Part II

Kenro looked at a too quiet Haruka and swept his eyes towards Toriyama. Something happened in that underwater cave. His instincts screamed it at him. He gave Haruka another look as she looked up at him and smiled softly. Sighing, he walked from his original spot, every stride being watched by Toriyama's peripherals, and strode over to where the child sat, sitting down next to her and wrapping his left arm around her shoulders. She gave him a questioning look which he just smiled at, following it up by combing her hair around with his fingers. Around them were a total of twenty soldiers, standing stock still, awaiting directions.

They were situated in another foresty area and were currently in a tree house overlooking the majority of the field of trees before them. Kenro had apparently asked another one of his General friends a favor, more specifically if he could borrow soldiers to use for their third task.

"This task requires all brain work," the vice president started. The two competitors looked at him as he began, still twirling a couple strands of Haruka's hair as he did so. "The soldiers standing in front of you right now are your men. You'll each be getting ten men to lead for this task. On the north side of this forest is another cabin where, you Toriyama-kun will have your base. Haruka-chan, yours is in the south. In the first twelve hours, you will pick the weapons your men will need for this task as well as speak over the tactics you'll be using. Both of you will be given a full detailed map of the entire area which will help you in your tactical advances.

"When picking weapons for your soldiers, you will assess the strengths and weaknesses of each of your soldiers to make the best decision on which weapon to have them use. One soldier may only carry one weapon, regardless of how small that weapon is, so if you decide to choose a grenade bomb as one of your weapons, that person will only carry grenade bombs, nothing else.

"The weapons will be much like what you used for the first task, that is, paintball geared weapons. After assessing which weapons they'll be using, you'll then start planning on how to take the other team's flag, the main objective of this task.

"After you're done deciding what each soldier is to do, the both of you will come back here and watch it all happen with me. You will not partake in the task itself; the soldiers will do it for you. Whoever's soldiers' capture the flag of the opposing team's first wins." He looked at both of them who were both eyeing the floor listening to him intently as he finished his explanation. "Any questions?"

They simultaneously shook their heads, Toriyama getting up and sizing up the soldiers before him.

"Are these my soldiers?" he asked as he gazed at all of them eyeing one man particularly who looked too skinny and lanky to be a strong enough solider.

Kenro nodded his head as his eyebrow went up in question. "Is there a problem?"

The built man swept his eyes to the soldiers in front of the blonde and narrowed his eyes. "Actually, I was hoping for those men to be my soldiers," he replied pointing at Haruka's men.

Kenro's eyebrows immediately stitched together. "The—

"I don't mind," Haruka's quiet voice replied suddenly causing Toriyama and Kenro to look at her in surprise. She looked at Toriyama and smiled, looking quite innocent because of her soft features. "If you think Kenro-san gave you the more inferior soldiers, I'll take them off of your hands and use them for this task. So when I beat you with them, you can't provide yourself with some stupid excuse like… "I had the weaker group.""

Her competitor's jaw clenched as his eyes narrowed in dangerous slits. "We'll see," was the sharp reply and in sheer annoyance, looked at what was Haruka's soldiers and yelled, "Meet up at the northern base in twenty minutes. If you're late, I'll skin your ass myself."

He angrily strode across the room, not bothering to look at his rival or superior as he left, followed closely by his soldiers.

Kenro's eyes twinkled in amusement as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his smirking daughter. "You shouldn't provoke him like that. Add enough fuel to the fire and you'll get burned."

Haruka sighed and looked over her soldiers who looked at her quite inquiringly. "I know some of you are hesitant to follow the orders of a fourteen year old," she started. "But I promise none of you will get hurt as long as you're under my supervision. Work with me in the fullest of your extent, and I'll make this as painless as I can."

Some of the soldiers nodded while others just looked at her blankly.

"Kenro-san," she stated looking at her surrogate father. "We'll be leaving."

He smiled at her as she left, going out from the other exit being trailed by ten other soldiers who didn't look quite as hesitant as before.

O-----O

The hours for weapon and plan implementation passed by quickly. Only thirty minutes to go and she'd have to go back to the cabin to join her superior and competitor to see who'll win the third task.

The soldiers must've thought her pretty strange. Prior to what they were thinking, the blonde did not start going through the weapons storage to assign them weapons to use. In retrospect, she made them all sit down in a circle and talk about themselves in a too intimate conversation where they had to relate to her their life story. This by itself took several hours, where they lounged around at their base site and spoke over lunch, getting more comfortable as time passed.

When the time to assign the weapons came, she merely asked them to choose their weapons, not caring if anyone chose weak guns over sheer firepower ones or if the weapons they chose were so heavy that it was hard to lug around. After choosing their weapons, she made them go through targets to size up their skills.

Everything was going well in her plan. The men around her were no longer quiet around each other, they were joking and having fun while shooting at targets precisely. She needed unity and conformity: the main reason why she asked them to talk in front of one another. Unity amongst a group, in her opinion, was most valuable in tasks like this; they needed to know who to trust. She also asked them to pick up their own weapons because she knew that they knew themselves more than she did. Knowing Toriyama, he'll have full control over his team, not wanting to hear any talk or opinion from them. She's not egocentric in that sense that she'll tell soldiers who have been doing this for a living what weapons they should use—they'll know it themselves.

She broke off her musings as Chi, who she deemed Team Captain came up to her with a smile on his rough features. "Let's talk about the plan one more time Chibi General?"

She smiled in amusement at the nickname. In the second hour as they were talking about themselves, one of the soldiers, who didn't really know her name trailed off by calling her Chibi General. It stuck, and now all of them called her that in sheer enjoyment. She nodded her head as he called them to gather around at the table.

"Retell me the plan," she said simply and looked around at each of them.

Yuumuro stood up to start. "Once the first hour begins I'll start setting up spreading the proximity paint mines around the area one hundred yards away from the base—

"While I go and scout the other team's base," another soldier cut off. "If I don't come back within the hour, consider me gone from the mission and note that they must have pretty damn good defense in order to spot me or take me out." Shin, the soldier talking, was part of the espionage group in the army. He was lanky, thin, and not at all close to muscular compared to the others, but he went through the traps Haruka set up in training with such efficiency and ease that she couldn't help, but feel content at the fact that he was in the group. She noted that he was the one Toriyama was staring at when he was looking down at his former faction.

"Meanwhile," Chi continued, "Atare and Gyo will stay up here and guard the flag while the rest of the men and I go around and protect the outside of the base, switching and circling posts as we do so. If it all goes to plan as you explained Chibi General, after a few hours of waiting, the other team's patience as reflected by their General, would have thinned out and hence commence attack. By that time, Shin should've returned with clear details of their location and stations and after we take out whoever they send, we'll infiltrate the base."

"Remember to only attack after they send out at least half of their men," Haruka added, receiving nods at the men in front of her. "Other than that, good plan. I hope to see it implemented just as how we discussed it."

Chi gathered up the men as they saluted to her in unison, making her scratch the back of her head in embarrassment.

"We won't fail you General. Thank you for having us," the Captain continued.

Haruka nodded as her cell phone made a small noise. She pulled it out of her pants pockets and looked at the Technicolor screen.

"Meet up at the main base. –Kenro"

She looked up at her men one last time, graced them with a thankful smile as they gave one back, and left to head for the main base.

O-----O

There were about twenty monitors in front of them giving a clear view of what the cameras could see from the outside as well as the sound accompanied. Five monitors showed Toriyama's base, another five showed Haruka's, and the last ten were of the clear areas where the most fighting would presumably take place.

Kenro, Toriyama, and Haruka sat in front of it all in a round table, consuming what would be dinner. In a loudspeaker, the vice president cleared his throat and stated, "Commence."

From one of the monitors, Haruka smiled as she saw her group separate from a team huddle and Yuumuro coming out with many proximity paint mines. Simultaneously, Shin went around in the more tree populated areas and began his long trek to Toriyama's base, compass and silencer pistols in hand. In the other monitor, about three of Toriyama's total soldiers were displacing their weapons consisting of mines: timed, proximity, and remote all over the grounds.

_Well that's stupid of him,_ Haruka thought with a frown. _Now they're all weaponless…_

She looked back at her soldiers who were now going into their positions, some on top of trees with their camouflage gear and sniper rifles working to their full advantage, while the rest, adorned with Uzis and semi automatic pistols, patrolled the ground below, switching spots every fifteen minutes.

"You really think one set of proximity mines are going to take down my men," Toriyama stated with smirk.

Haruka merely smiled as she watched Shin in one of the monitors expertly go through the thick trees with little to no noise. She looked back down to her food and commenced eating, not really all that worried about what was going on outside.

An hour passed, but not much action. Of the three, Toriyama was the only one pressed against the monitors, not paying much attention to the meal in front of him.

Shin, as everyone noticed, had entered Toriyama's territory and much to Haruka's smug satisfaction, had successfully spotted the location of most, if not all of the different kinds of mines concealed on the ground and had marked them on the map clutched on his hand.

The tomboy's brash competitor could only scream at the screen. "You stupid ass idiots! He's right there! Right there! GET HIM! GET HIIIIM!!"

But all of them failed to notice the stealthy young man. He was in and out as planned with no resistance as one of Toriyama's soldiers began making his way to Haruka's base. Coincidentally enough, Shin and the other soldier were a mere one hundred yards apart, neither really knowing the presence of the other because of the descending darkness and still too dim headlights overhead. Toriyama was once again yelling at the screen.

"God damn it! He's right there! Right there! I am going to pummel these idiots when I'm done with them!"

The blonde only looked on, sipping her coffee and rolling her eyes as she did so.

Halfway back to base, suspicion dawned on Shin's face in the monitors and he immediately crawled under one of the thick bushes in the surrounding area, his pistol in front of his face.

"Your guy's screwed," Haruka said shortly making Toriyama narrow his eyes at her.

True to Haruka's word, Shin successfully shot the arriving soldier two minutes later in the chest and a half an hour later, made it to base in one piece. Chi and five other soldiers went into the base leaving the snipers for lookout and began implementing the plan for infiltration based on Shin's report.

Night passed and all was silent.

"Now for the wait," Haruka stated and yawned loudly.

She was tired. She didn't think that the whole competition would take so much from her, but her surrogate father's been doing a good job in managing the time between the missions. The only time she's had sleep in the past three days was when Toriyama had knocked her out, and after the initial time that she had woken up alone, felt her eyes droop back from the earlier fatigue, resting only a mere thirty or so minutes more.

_Not the fittest place to sleep either_, she thought in annoyance as she massaged the side of her neck that's been sore since she woke up.

She needed to entertain herself quickly before she fell to sleep. She glanced at one of Toriyama's screens and grinned. Seven of the remaining ten soldiers, one of them completely weaponless since the timed mines on the ground consisted of his weapons, were starting to move out in the general direction of Haruka's camp.

"You're so predictable," she stated with a smirk and noted that her soldiers were all back to their original posts, waiting for the infiltration from the other team. "…so predictable…"

Toriyama stood up in anger as his team moved out, looking at the blonde lividly. He balled his fist as his eyes narrowed dangerously at her and only sat back down when Kenro stood up as well, looking at him with a cold, nonchalant, and asking expression. He sat back down momentarily, eyeing Haruka before doing so and looked back at the monitors.

After that, the scenario ran as Haruka predicted. Her men were in place when Toriyama's soldiers infiltrated. Some of them fell for the cleverly hidden proximity mines, others were taken out by the snipers from the trees, while the rest was bombarded with the soldiers in the bottom or paint grenade bombers in the base itself. All of Toriyama's men were taken out in less than five minutes and no casualties whatsoever on the blonde's side.

The brunette was livid and Haruka was doing her best not to grin from ear to ear. Thirty minutes later and Toriyama's base was infiltrated with ease, Chi and six other soldiers attacking while four men stayed in the base in case the remaining two of Toriyama's soldiers decided to attack. Five minutes after infiltration and Chi had Toriyama's red flag clutched in his hand, a victorious smile on his and the other soldiers' face.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

"You know," Michiru suddenly stated, "the more I learn about Toriyama-san, the more I don't like him."

Haruka laughed as they sat on a bench surrounded by tulips. "You'll probably hate him after hearing our fourth task then."

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

The win, much to Haruka's chagrin, was very short lived as she stared at their next task site. Toriyama's teeth bared in a sadistic kind of grin and her mouth just sort of stood agape, not believing that her surrogate father had thought of this as one of the tasks, yet understanding fully why he had to add it.

They were situated in the bottom of a twenty by twenty by twenty feet pit with Kenro at the very top looking down at them.

"The objective of this task is pretty straightforward," he said with worry evident on his face as he stared down at his disapproving blonde child. "All out hand to hand combat. Do whatever you can to disable the other. A clear knock out is a win as well as any form of submission. Any questions?"

"Not at all," Toriyama grunted, the grin getting wider as more seconds passed.

"Haruka-chan?"

Young Haruka looked up at him and smiled the same soft smile she usually sported in front of him. His face contorted in a painful grimace as he noted they way she smiled at him and frowned when she looked away, back to the already flexing Toriyama.

"Thought you would take it in this round didn't you?" her competitor grunted as he cracked his knuckles and took off his sweater, leaving a black undershirt on.

Haruka sighed and looked at him in mild annoyance. "Let's just get this over with."

Her rival gave her a grin and muttered, "It won't be over anytime soon. I'll make sure you get acquainted with the ground in an intimate way before it's over."

Haruka frowned and balled her hands into fists, her stance a fighting one. Toriyama followed suit and attacked as Kenro muttered, "Start."

His power was overwhelming. Every punch that she made literally bounced back to her, leaving no lasting effect whatsoever except for momentary pauses on his part. His physical movements were sluggish and slow, but the fatigue that's haunted both of them the last four days seemed to affect the blonde more than the taller man and made it hard for her to dodge his attacks, regardless of how time consuming they were.

One mistake was all he needed from the lithe and still too quick blonde and not one minute later, he found the opening.

Haruka had decided to kick him and instead of dodging the kick that felt more like a bug's bite than anything physically ailing, he grabbed it in midair and pulled her body towards his. He glanced at her wide green eyes as he did so, the smirk becoming larger on his teeth bared mouth and twisted the blonde's leg under his arm, causing her to crash on the ground face first. He immediately lugged his built body over her, twisting her shoulder to face him and began pummeling his large hands over her shocked face.

All that crossed in his mind was to take care of the problem. Kenro's screaming voice made no motion of change in his instinct driven body, nor the writhing of the little girl before him.

_Kill the problem. Kill the problem. _His mind berated and suddenly, he was smashed back into reality as he felt an arm go around his neck cutting off all source of oxygen from gathering into his lungs. His hands stopped punching the crying form in front of him as he felt the arm tighten across his neck. His hand grabbed the arm around him in hopes of prying it off, but it only tightened harder.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the harsh voice of the vice president of TWE muttered behind him coldly.

"M-m-k-k…" He could only splutter as the air he breathed became rarer and rarer.

Kenro's teeth grounded together as he made his arm tighten more. "I told you to stop. The next time I tell you to stop, you do, do you understand me?"

The brunette in his arms nodded vigorously grunting in pain as the nods he made bruised against the arm locked around his neck. Kenro, showing just how strong he really was, pulled the built man up with him and tossed him to the side like a rag doll. Finally he kneeled to a quietly crying blonde clutching her cheeks with her bruised hands.

"It's okay Haru-chan," he whispered cradling the blonde in his arms. "Get a doctor over here right now!"

Toriyama only watched from the sidelines, clutching his neck as he pressed the bruise down.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

She was speechless.

Haruka smiled at her and turned her cheek towards her, pointing at a small scar resting at the side near her right ear.

"Haruka…" Michiru whispered in awe as she reached her hand over and slid her finger across the faint scar. Then she sighed in exasperation as a questioning look graced her elegant features. "What in the world was Oji-san thinking??"

The blonde chuckled and shrugged. "Well they were pretty much straightforward missions; the kinds of things he felt a good leader needed to have to lead a group."

She was going to continue when a girl in a Cosmos uniform interrupted them suddenly. "A Tenoh-kun reserved a table?"

Haruka looked up and gave the girl an intense look. "Yeah, that's me."

The girl blushed as she continued, "Your table's ready."

"Thank you for going out of your way for us," Michiru said while bowing.

The girl only smiled. "Follow me please."

They walked out of the moonlit garden and into the restaurant and got seated near one of the tables overlooking Tokyo Bay.

"This place is nice," Michiru complimented as they received their menus. "Hokuto-chan told me that she went here once for a da…"

Haruka looked at her questioningly as she trailed off. "Day?"

The violinist gave her a sheepish smile and looked back at her menu too quickly. "Date," she finished.

Haruka's smiled, grinning a little too widely. "A date huh? Is that what we're doing here now Michiru-san?" She looked around and noticed that most if not every table was seated with couples only. Her grin only widened.

"Haruka, wasn't it your idea to eat here?" the shorter girl suddenly asked. Their grin suddenly switched places.

The blonde now switched her gaze to her menu looking at it too busily as the other girl looked on at her, her smile wide at first began dwindling as time passed by.

During the week that she's spent with the blonde a nagging feeling had been gnawing at her constantly. At first she was confused as to what it could've been, but realization dawned on her rather quickly when a girl in her class began making moves on the pianist in the middle of the week and she felt such an uncontrollable urge of jealousy go through her that she literally dragged Haruka away from the restaurant they were just starting to have lunch in just to get away from said girl.

Michiru. Independent, doesn't-need-anyone-to-follow-her-around, free willed Michiru… liked someone. That would've been fine in the aqua haired girl's mind because, as her mom would exclaim if she knew, "The late bloomer had finally bloomed!" What she won't know, if Michiru could help it, was that who opened Michiru's eyes was another girl. The girl who just brushed her hair back right now in front of her that's causing her to blush for unknown reasons for looking at those slender, strong fingers.

Late bloomer, but blooming pretty quickly for a very short amount of time…

_Why am I so attracted to her?_ The same sentence that's been running through her mind for the past week had once again resurfaced. And always, like clockwork, the same statement was thought afterwards. _It's wrong…I can't be feeling this way. It's socially…unacceptable…_

She couldn't even fathom the kinds of things the people around her and her parents' circle would say if word got around that she liked her bodyguard who happened to be a _girl. _She sighed inwardly and frowned. It's not that she cared about what they said. It's more on the field of how her parents are going to be affected by her decisions. Her family was seen by the whole of Japan as the wholesome, perfect family. And although she couldn't help, but feel attracted to the blonde, she would not subject her family to inquiring questions made for the sole purpose of satiating the public's opinion on them.

_I feel so stuck…_ She looked at the blonde and retreated again to her menu that seemed so far away. She could barely register what it said from the tirades going on in her head. _I'm stuck…yet I can't stop feeling this way for her._ And once again, her eyes went up to the blonde's haphazardly cropped hair and to her intense green eyes that were momentarily glued on the menu.

When the waiter came and took their order with Michiru picking the first meal that her eyes darted on when he asked and Haruka just getting some form of salad, they were left alone again in the silence that, Michiru hadn't noticed, enveloped them. Before she could go back to her contemplations, Haruka interrupted her train of thought.

"Should I just leave you with your musings?" The blonde's mellow voice immediately sent her back to her present situation, looking at her inquiringly as she asked. She gazed at her with a questioning glance as Haruka continued, "You seem lost in your own world. Would you like to go back?"

Understanding dawned on her face as she smiled and shook her head. "Actually, I want to know what your last task was since we were interrupted earlier. What was the mighty fifth task that was the deciding factor for Commandership?"

Haruka smirked, rested her chin on her propped up arm and looked sideways over the sparkling black water. "Kenro-san…wanted us to suffer pretty badly."

The violinist's eyebrows stitched together as the words formed out of Haruka's mouth.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

Her face was puffy and in pain. The doctors had taped gauze all over it, but her green sparkling eyes were still noticeable through the space between the whiteness of the pads. She felt as if her whole head had bloated to a numerous size and her body was weak with the desire to go home and pray for a better feeling in her body tomorrow.

But they were so close and her rival did not want to go anywhere until this was decided fully. His eyes shot out the determination that was boiling out of him to beat her for the commanding spot and that look alone gave Haruka enough firepower to tell herself to pull it together on this last task so she can beat him and gloat about it forever. She almost smiled in smug satisfaction at the little scenarios playing in her head. Yup, commanding spot didn't look half bad right then.

When the limo that they were in stopped, they stood in front of a large five diamond hotel towering over the city. She looked at Kenro questioningly as he gave her a soft smile, letting her lean her weak body on him as they left the limo and started heading in.

To her surprise, the vice president booked the penthouse suite and lead them, first to the elevator and then to the spacious suite itself. They did not stop to tour the many rooms and activities they could do inside the suite. Instead, Kenro took them to a room with two beds, each five feet away from the other covered with the softest pillows and blankets that both Haruka and Toriyama had been daydreaming about for days now.

Without word, Toriyama sat on one of the beds, yawning loudly as he did so. It was then that Haruka noticed that the fatigue had affected the older man as well, if not more than her. Kenro helped the blonde to the other bed and helped her get inside the fluffy goose down comforter. Toriyama did the same as the vice president turned off the lights and let the rising sun's rays peak through the otherwise closed blinds.

As both competitors' eyes began drooping to a close, the gruff voice of Haruka's surrogate father woke them up surreptitiously. "Your fifth and final task, Toriyama-san, Haruka-chan, is to lie on the beds that you are on right now for the rest of the twenty four hours left of this competition without sleeping."

Both of their eyes widened as Haruka sat on the bed, albeit the way her body twisted painfully when she did so.

"The last of your rations, that should be more than enough for the rest of the competition, are on the desk drawer in between the both of you. Choose when you'd like to eat it.

"The one who stays awake in the entirety of the twenty-four hours right when I leave this room will take the First Commander post for the Defense Division. Are there any questions?"

His adopted daughter looked at him with a horrific face as he gave her an apologetic one. "There are cameras in the room that'll detect your every movement. We'll know if you're sleeping or not, so without stalling any further... good luck." And with that, he opened the door and closed it behind him, letting the once light room fall back into semi darkness.

"Where the hell does he come up with this?" Toriyama muttered next to her. She could see the rough lines of his face as he moved up on the bed and sat up, similar to her current position.

She chose not to answer him and just traced her fingers over her swollen face, pushing and prodding the bruises as she did so.

"I don't have any regrets doing what I did to you," her rival stated as he noticed her actions. "I'm not usually a sadistic man, but—

"Your pride can't allow you to be beaten by a fourteen year old," Haruka cut off. "Furthermore, a fourteen year old girl. I understand Toriyama-san."

"Then why don't you just give it to me?" His voice was slightly annoyed this time. "I don't see why you had to make us go through all of this."

The pain on her face doubled as she pushed an open sore too roughly. She grunted at the pain and laid her arm to her side, not thinking of prodding her face any longer. "To tell you the truth Toriyama-san, I just want to make Kenro-san happy. I could care less about winning this competition if it was just strictly for my reasons, but I owe something to Kenro-san, and if he wants me to pass this with flying colors, then I will."

"You're like a dog—

"And so are you…" They both stared at each other, Haruka's face passive while Toriyama's in a deep frown. "You're a lower ranked General for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force aren't you Toriyama-san?"

Her rival didn't answer, choosing only to keep staring at her with hateful eyes.

"It's in my knowledge that you were going to have the commanding position for the DD because of recommendations from Kenro-san's military buddies. A lot of them concurred what you've done to both Akira-san and Kenro-san and they were both really pleased with your records. High achievements in getting things done efficiently and swiftly, never wanting to say no to a direct command, always there when your commanding officers needed you, never failing one single mission. It's all very impressive Toriyama-san—

"What the hell is your main point?" the brunette man's rough voice cut through air.

Haruka merely smiled her soft smile at him. "My point is that you're an even bigger dog than I am…seeing as that's what you've been for the majority of your lifetime."

Toriyama balled his hand into solid fists and swiveled his feet from the bottom of his bed to the ground.

"What the hell did you just—

"Toriyama-kun, I hope to God you're not planning on doing what it looks like you're about to do," Kenro's hard voice suddenly filtered into the room. Both competitors simultaneously looked up to see speakers directly over their heads. "Sit back down before I disqualify you. My rules were clear. You are to stay in your bed for the duration of the competition."

The blonde's rival looked at the speakers incredulously and then back at her who wasn't trying very hard to show a victorious smirk. He grounded his teeth together in frustration and plopped back on the bed, his eyes never leaving Haruka's chuckling form.

"Just like a nice…trained…dog…" Haruka whispered.

By this time, Toriyama's hand had found one of his pillows and was in the verge of ripping it apart in resentment. "When I take the commanding spot—

"If you take the comm—

"When—

"Toriyama-san, bickering like a bunch of fourteen year olds is fitting for me… but not very well for a man of your stature and age…" the blonde declared and laid back down into the comfort of her bed. "If you don't mind, can we just spend the rest of the twenty three plus hours in silence?"

Toriyama clutched the pillow in his hand as loud ripping noises echoed through room. The blonde only sighed and turned to her side facing the wall and away from her livid competitor.

O-----O

_How long has it been? I feel so…_the blonde sighed inwardly as she blinked her eyes three times in rough succession and looked to the closed and blinded windows in front of her, noting the sun's rays trying to peek through the closed blinds. _I can't…do this anymore…_

Saying that the last task was complete torture was an understatement. Her body felt numb—on the verge of breaking down. The fatigue she felt in her body crawled now to her extremities, rendering her from moving even for a mere foot. It felt as if a ton of bricks were weighing down on her, cutting off any sort of movement even more.

To her relief, Toriyama wasn't faring off well either. He looked almost dead, grunting in annoyance every now and then to signal that he was still in the game. His eyes never looked away from the ceiling, opting on looking at the same spot, probably the same decorated square. He yawned.

_Sixty third yawn… God… I'm counting yawns…How much longer do I have to be subjected to this torture??_

The blonde almost wanted to rip her hair off, but couldn't even if her desire was really as much as she thought. Her arm wouldn't obey…it just laid at her side lifeless.

O-----O

Night had fallen once again. The noises emitted by the vehicles outside were drowned by her concentration to keep awake.

With a large amount of her energy, she ripped off a piece of bread from her rations and dragged her hand to her mouth, chewing nimbly at the flavorless, stale bread. Next to her, Toriyama was doing the same, albeit slower and with more energy exerted every time.

She no longer thought of anything; she felt that doing so would waste her concentration and energy. If she could take back the energy wasted during her couple minutes tirade with her rival hours ago, she would gladly do so, choosing only on using it on the most important bodily movements, like blinking and breathing. Nothing felt automatic anymore; every movement was deliberate, slow, and energy consuming. She once again took a piece of bread to her mouth.

_Lift arm, open mouth, bite, chew, breathe, blink, swallow. Lift arm, open mouth, bite, chew, breathe, blink, swallow._

Minutes into her mind ordering, she felt a silence dance across the room. Her face contorted in a confused frown as she gathered a lot of her precious energy to turn her head to the direction of her rival. She had to blink again when she saw him, not believing at what might have been an illusion in front of her.

Toriyama's face was that of a child's after playing throughout the day and had finally decided that a nap was in order. His eyes were tightly closed, mouth slightly open, his chest inhaling and exhaling in slow, steady rhythms. The bread on his hand dangled and after a few seconds fell softly on the carpeted floor noiselessly. The rest of his body was covered with the comfortable goose down blanket that had adorned both of them since the beginning of the task.

Haruka just had to blink again. A small, victorious smile graced her features, but she knew it wasn't over yet. Kenro had stated that the winner needed to have the whole twenty four hours in his or her bag to win the task, and she, with more determination and will than ever before, would do just that. She would not have a tied match.

So, she willed herself to stay awake. In the last moments before the task would be named hers she felt lost in a dazed state. She knew she was awake, but her body seemed to float and her mind seemed light and worry free. She was beginning to think that she may have stumbled upon Nirvana when the door banged noisily, causing her rival to jerk awake from the sudden sound. His eyes glanced at her in confusion as Kenro walked in between them with a satisfied smile on his face. His rival's triumphant smile said it all.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

"There you have it," Haruka smiled looking down at her salad as she finished her storytelling.

Michiru gave her an amused smile and picked up her fork.

"Right after the spectacle and finally getting rested, your father, Kenro-san, Toriyama, and I started the DD. I would take care of where to send them for training and all the paperwork while Toriyama scouted for candidates. By that time, TWE was already a conglomerate and so a lot of people wanted to work for us, thinking that it would be simply a bodyguard type job. Of course it was more than that and it blew up to what the DD is now. I virtually know everyone who becomes a member because I have the final say as to who gets in and in what unit they get chosen into."

Michiru nodded understandingly as she pointed out, "That's why you knew Yuka-san just from his face."

"Yeah."

The violinist put her fork down and smiled gratefully at the blonde before her. "Thank you for telling me more about yourself," she said softly.

Haruka looked up from her salad and gazed at the expression of the shorter girl. "I didn't want trust to become an issue anymore," she shrugged noncommittally. "This way's only fair. I know a lot about you from your profiles and the stories from Kenro-san and Akira-san and now you know some things about me."

"I know. But I also know that no one's heard your story before, so it must've been hard for you to go back and have to relate it all. Especially to someone who's just—

"Michiru-san," Haruka cut off, a smile tugging at the ends of her lips.

The shorter girl smiled at her before an asking face graced her features. "So, how long are you going to work for the DD then?"

"I can't exactly say," the blonde shrugged. "I feel like I haven't done my end of deal and even more so now. Your father and Godfather took care of me, fed me, clothed me, gave me shelter…their kindness was abundant. I feel like I can never fully repay them back so I'll probably work and take care of the DD for as long as they need me."

"It sounds like a lifelong commitment."

"Then I guess I'll have to stick to doing it in this lifetime."

"Haruka…" The aqua haired girl's voice was eminent with worry.

"What?" she asked quickly, looking up from her salad.

"There's more to life than just…working. You're only seventeen! You're barely an adult and you're already doing things most adults have never even done! Are you just willing to throw away your childhood?"

A small sigh escaped Haruka's lips as she put her fork down as well. "If it weren't for Kenro-san and Akira-san, I don't think I would ever make it out of my childhood."

"That may be true, but have you ever actually asked Kenro Oji-san and Otou-san what they think you should do?"

"Of course they would say that I should enjoy life—

"Then why don't you?" the smaller girl asked incredulously. "You've been doing this for ten years now. I'd think that was enough."

The blonde shook her head. "It's not. As I said before, I can't just leave until I pay back what I owe Kenro-san fully. I just can't leave like that!"

"You keep saying you can't Haruka, but you can," Michiru insisted. "Oji-san adopted you because you remind him so much of Yumi-chan: your short hair, your attitude, your physical characteristics…everything about you reminds him of his late daughter. Knowing him, he probably wanted to give you whatever it is you wanted because after adopting you, it already felt like you were his daughter. You wanted to play soldier? He gave it to you. He got you the best instructors and generals he could gather just so you could pay back what you felt you owed him.

"After all your hard work, he looked at it in your point of view and believed you to be good enough for the first commander position of the DD, so he fought for that spot for you regardless of how unfair it may have been to Toriyama-san. You know Oji-san only wants what you want, so if you want to quit the DD and go into whatever it is that interests you he'll let you do it."

"But that's just it Michiru-san," Haruka exclaimed, her teeth gritting unconsciously now. "I can't do it. I love my real father too much to go back from his words. It would be an insult to his memory if I don't pay back my debt."

"Do you think your father would like it if you threw your childhood away just to pay for a debt that Oji-san probably doesn't think you owe?" Haruka couldn't believe that they were arguing over this. A scenario like this one was in replay in her head throughout the whole week.

_This is exactly one of the reasons why I was fighting with myself as to what to tell her… _

Her face etched into a deep frown as she looked away, towards the dark sparkling waters. With a hint of finality, she roughly muttered, "It doesn't matter what Kenro-san thinks. I'm not going to insult my father's memory."

The rest of dinner was spent in silence.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

By the time they arrived at Michiru's condominium, the silence was thick and foreboding.

She knew she was threading on dangerous grounds, but she couldn't help, but point out her view on the matter during dinner.

_Why does she have to be so stubborn about it?_

She groaned inwardly and looked at the silent and still frowning blonde that walked into the guest room. Physically, she was so close, merely a few feet from her, yet the distance between them seemed unfathomable.

_She really can live up to her name…_she thought sadly.

This was the first argument that they've had since the first time they've met one week ago. During the thick silence that was dinner, she couldn't help, but keep glancing at the distracted blonde.

She missed her. That same thought process circulated in her brain for the duration of dinner. She missed her. She missed the always joking, always smiling blonde that she's gotten used to in the past week. The blonde that looked at her with soft, sparkling, protective green eyes. The same green eyes that she could drown in and know that she'll be fine right after.

_I miss her…_

She groaned inwardly yet again as a yawn escaped her lips. Realization dawned on her that the day wasn't over. _I still have to do my homework…I can't postpone it until tomorrow…_

Haruka's deep voice managed to take her out of her stupor. "Come on, let's finish our homework." She walked out of her room carrying her bookbag with one hand. "You like to do them on Saturday nights, isn't that right?"

Michiru looked at her questioningly and with a hint of suspicion answered, "Yes…I do. Really though Haruka, how much do you know about me?"

The same amused sparkle twinkled in Haruka's eyes as her serious face was replaced with a smirk. "Enough to blackmail you for life."

"Is that so?" The same smile now graced along Michiru's features as well.

"Yes that is so."

"And pray tell me what information you might know about me that's good enough to blackmail me for life?" The violinist walked up to the blonde standing in front of her and crossing her arms as she did so.

Haruka's eyes sparkled in mischief. "At what age you stopped wetting your bed would be one of many."

The smile slid off the shorter girl's face and a blush crept to her cheeks as her blue eyes widened.

"Your father tells me that you're considered in your element when you're around…water. Imagine the surprise I got when I learned that you soaked yourself with your own element until you were in the third grade."

Michiru's eyes doubled in size as her mouth dropped. "Haruka, that information is _not_ leaving this condo or I swear to God I'll—

"You'll what Michiru-san?" Haruka grinned. "Really though, tell me. Is that the reason why you consider water as your element?"

The violinist's eyebrows knitted together. "This stops now."

"Oh come on, you can't take a little joke?"

"A little, yes, but my father isn't paying you to make jokes about me."

"Yes you're right. Your father's paying me to baby sit you."

"Ha ha, and yet another pun. Tell me, did your mother instill any sort of discipline in that stubborn head of yours?"

She immediately regretted saying it as the pain flashed through Haruka's eyes.

Before she could reply, Haruka's strained voice whispered huskily, "Actually, no. She was too busy working to ever spend time with me, including instilling discipline."

She gave a saddened, sorry expression as she stepped closer to her in the hopes of comforting her. "Haruka, I didn't mean anything by it. I—I didn't mean to bring back bad…memori…" she trailed off as the sound of uncontrollable laughter filled the room.

"You should've seen how sorry you looked!" Haruka exclaimed as she clutched her aching side.

She laughed some more and was momentarily rewarded with a pillow from the sofa to her face. But this action, only served to harden her laughter.

"You're intolerable," Michiru muttered and walked passed her towards her room.

She immediately stopped as Haruka's left arm stuck out towards her, barring any way for her to getting into her room. She looked at the blonde questioningly as her laughter subsided.

"Can we forget about what happened during dinner?" Her voice was that of an apology. "I know that my reasons aren't justifiable enough for you—

Michiru shook her head making Haruka cut herself off. She smiled at her tenderly as she took the blonde's protruding arm into her hands and played with her hand, rubbing over the smooth backside of it with her soft fingers. "I was out of place. I knew of your reasons already and I ignored it and tried to push my opinion on you."

The blonde blushed as she felt the other girl delicately rubbing the backside of her fingers. She smiled thereafter as Michiru looked back at her with the same apologizing look and both graced each other with soft smiles. They stayed that way for a couple minutes until Haruka retreated her arm back to her side, her discomfort showing heavily. Yet the other girl didn't go into her bedroom as she was doing so before their momentary sign of endearment. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Haruka's waist and looked up at her surprised features with her head tilted back, a tender smile upon her lips.

"I don't like arguing with you," she said softly, a frown coming up to her face as she did so. It was covered with another smile as she continued, "So let's try to keep it to a bare minimum okay?"

Haruka smiled softly at her and nodded, unable to say much of anything. They again stayed in that position for a while until Michiru stepped out of it and left to go grab her bookbag from her room, but not before giving her another precious, grateful, disarming smile.

AN: So in the beginning I was going to separate this whole thing into two chapters, but I realized after I started editing it that each chapter consisted of about three thousand (more or less) words…hella small compared to what I've given out in the past. Because of that I decided to just combine 'em into a decent sized chappy so after this, there's going to be no more flashbacks concerning Haruka. I just wanted to say that because in prior chapters I said that Haruka's past would be three or so chapters long and that's not the point anymore. Ok, since I explained my train of thoughts concerning the first two days of the trial, I guess I'll say something about the last three as well. The third trial is sorta self-explanatory…capture the flag-ish type of game only more extreme I guess. Fourth, I had to put some form of hand to hand combat in the trials since it's quite obvious that that self-defense is a must if you're going to be in charge of a whole department geared on that. Fifth…I think is pretty funny. I mean, not sleeping for a whole day when you haven't had decent rest in five whole days?? XD I love torturing these characters. Anywho, I'll explain a little more about other stuff that people might not know here…umm… oh! Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) is basically the Japanese military…so yeah…Toriyama was a part of that. Other than that…I don't think there's really anything else to explain.

Petiyaka: Now that you mention it…it is sorta like a kid going up against a Japanese Rambo huh?? XD Had that in the back of my mind as I was editing the other trials.

Knightlight: Hehe cool. I'm glad the weird chapter didn't scare you away. Hope this one satisfies as well.

Smartieox: You know…I would really, really love to bash my head against my keyboard… but I have a laptop and unless I can twist my body all the way to my legs…it wouldn't work real well… I mean… I guess I can carry the laptop over my head… but then it might suffer more injuries than me…and the fact that I don't have a backup for this story…yeah… don't think you want me to do that. BUT FREAGIN A!! CONTRACTIONS??? THE MISTAKE I MADE CONSISTED OF CONTRACTIONS??? AWGGFJIPKREQL;B GANLK;NKDL; -breathe in…breathe out- -.-;; that's even more nooby than the "were" mistake. Shoot… I dunno if I can take these little battles w/ you anymore. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?? BRING IT! TELL ME WHAT I MISSED THIS TIME…cuz god knows I probably did anyway. :'( I fail as a writer… XD that's a little dramatic, but anyway, I hope I catch you at a bad time again…it's funny when people tell me the circumstances of when they read my fic…but it'll be a Saturday when this gets posted so… fat chance there. :D Oh and thank you for the review that made me want to tear my hair out and that did make me scream my lungs out. With that said, tell me what I missed this time cuz I enjoy these little battles XD

Agent-Ayu: I personally love these trials…gets my creative juices flowing.

RaginFireDesire: Shoot if Michiru can't keep her eyes off her, we're doomed for sure. Adorable is right.

Rae: One of my main concerns was actually what you pointed out… a seven year old (very young first off) who just had her parents killed (too much of a tragedy second) going commando (unrealistic, third). But for my defense (although it probably won't be a good one) I felt like something really, really bad had to happen to Haruka in order for her to be in the spot she is now. The whole beating incident, in my eyes made her grow older than normal kids would under normal circumstances and because of what happened to her prior to the beating, she was either going to be too traumatic to move on or grow very maturely too fast. With the mind set of how Haruka is now being commander and all, I couldn't weave a story of a traumatized Haruka…it wouldn't fit her character. So I hope that sorta justifies a little bit of what you wanted answered. As for Haruka's feelings for Kenro, even at such a young age she practically adored her parents (her father the most as you can tell by the flashback). Even though she can't remember all too well what she did with them, what she can remember is how good they were to her and that by itself is enough. Because of that, I'm sorry to say that she's not as close to Kenro as Kenro would like her to be. Haruka will always see him as her surrogate father, never really being good enough to topple the high pedestal she put her biological father on. I'm not saying they're not close though, you'll see next chapter that they're pretty close with one another.

Reusch: Good background makes good stories. Thank you for reviewing

Yamato: OO you're awesome too XD Thank you for the kind words.

Neokstar: I hope I won't let you wait too long for the other ones and I'm glad you found the fic and kept at it.

Cybeleflame: hahaha the way u said oh my freaking cute is funny. Hehe deep inside Akira...hmm… well you'll know about how his personality more in the next chappy so you tell me if he put em together. XD I hope I've kept you attention at a standstill for now.


	7. Sunday Outing

Chapter 7: Sunday Outing

When Haruka woke up the next morning, she felt a painful sore in her lower back as well as a little crick in her neck. The immediate thing she noticed though was the wonderful smell wafting in her nose and the slight heaviness her body felt. She paid her body no mind, shrugging off the heaviness as her mind still being tired and instead focused on the wonderful smell.

_Mmm…vanilla? Is that what it is? Sort of…fruity actually… so familiar…smells good._

Smiling, she opened her eyes slowly and it could only widen from there, her smile sliding off all the more faster. During the night, amidst all the new kanji she had to memorize for Modern Japanese class, she fell asleep on the sofa. Okay, that was fine. It would be the first time she ever did it, but that was still okay. The problem was, what was Michiru doing, sleeping in her arms? Not only that, but they were lying pretty comfortably together, with the shorter girl's body laid on top of the blonde's. Upon closer inspection, it only got worst…or better, depending on how she looked at it. More specifically, Michiru's head was cradled in the valley of her breast, one hand cupping one of them, and the other clutching her shoulder.

_Oh…crap…_

She didn't know what else to think! Not wanting to have to explain what she was doing underneath the violinist if she woke up, later than sooner she prayed, she tried to writhe out of their current position, but this only made the smaller girl above her groan sleepily, moving her hand away which accidentally brushed the taller girl's breast.

Haruka's eyes widened in shock as an electric current traveled from her breast to her lower regions. She stifled a moan, wishing that it didn't feel as good as it just did, as the other girl muttered something in her sleep and moved further up to the blonde, now resting her head against the tall girl's neck. She was officially stuck.

"This…is not good," she whispered to herself.

"You're telling me."

Haruka's eyes widened as the voice of her adoptive father reached her ears. She managed to curve her head far back enough to see an upside down form of Kenro, wearing the widest grin she's ever seen him sport.

"It is definitely NOT what you're thinking," Haruka exclaimed in a loud whisper.

Kenro laughed heartily. "Only one week and my Haruka-chan already made a move… I knew you liked her! From the way you always asked if I saw her or not…wanting me to retell you stories with her in it. I just knew!"

"I told you, it's not what it looks like!" Haruka whispered louder, feeling very ostracized. In an attempt to salvage what's left of her dignity she fruitlessly continued, "We were doing homework when—

"Save me the explanations Haruka-chan." The black haired man only grinned. "You have other problems coming, like maybe the parents of a certain girl who's on top of you, riding the elevator going this way as we speak."

Haruka's eyes nearly popped out of her head. This was definitely not her day. "Oh crap… crap… crap… CRAP!!"

Michiru's eyes darted open as the sound of her bodyguard's low, panicking voice echoed around her, grunting louder than she's normally used to hearing. Her small, blue eyes widened as she saw their position on the really small sofa and even more so when she saw her Godfather looking at both of them with an amused look on his face.

"I—it's not what it seems!" she yelled immediately trying to explain.

Kenro gave a gruff laugh. "I'd love to listen to the juicy details Goddaughter, but your parents are on their way as we speak and I don't think their old hearts can stand the look of two women on top of one another…especially if one of those women is their daughter."

Michiru's jaw dropped.

Not knowing what else to do and feeling that timing is of the essence, Haruka pushed Michiru off of her, making her crash straight into the floor all the while saying, "G—get off Michiru-san!"

And as if right on cue, the violinist's parents stepped into the room, their expressions that of sheer confusion. Kenro was laughing heartily sitting on the loveseat across the other sofa, Haruka's eyes were wide in surprise looking at them with a hint of guilt in her face, and their daughter sat haphazardly on the floor in the same sundress she wore the other day sporting the same guilty look as her bodyguard.

"What's…going on?" Akira asked as he looked around the room, the white sling across his right shoulder moving slightly as he spoke.

His eyes caught their homework that was messily strewn all over the coffee table and looked back at the two tenants of the condo.

Both teens' eyes widened as Kenro laughed. "Haruka-chan and Michiru-chan were about to take their showers, weren't you?"

Both of them got up rather quickly and in unison, almost shouted, "Yes!"

Without waiting for either Kaioh to speak, they dashed to their respective bedrooms, locking their doors as they safely got inside.

Kenro gave one last laugh and wiped a teardrop about to roll down his eye. "Ahh, kids…"

Both Kaiohs looked at one another questioningly before shrugging it off and sitting down on the sofa that the two teens previously slept on.

Back in Haruka's room, the blonde was pacing back and forth, her heart thumping wildly against her chest. She closed her eyes and felt Michiru accidentally touch her again. She groaned.

_God, it would've been okay if Kenro-san, Akira-san, and Kaioh-san didn't appear. I could've maybe salvaged the situation…_

"My dear Haruka-chan!" Kenro's sing-song voice filtered through the crack of her door. "Stop fantasizing and hurry on out. We've got a full day ahead of us!"

She heard him laugh as he walked back, most probably to the sofa he sat on earlier. She stalked to her closet, grabbed some articles of clothing, and continued on to the bathroom, a clear scowl on her visage.

_Damn, lifeless old man..._

Meanwhile, in Michiru's room, the shorter girl couldn't stop pacing as well. Haruka's surprise face crept into her mind as she remembered the way their bodies felt so warm on top of each others. Amidst all the craziness with her Godfather in the same room, the position she was in, and her parents suddenly arriving, she couldn't help, but feel that waking up every morning like that wouldn't be so bad. Cut out the extra people and it wouldn't be bad at all! She shook her head as she heard rapping at her door.

"Michiru-chan, are you feeling alright?" It was her mother.

"Yes, Okaa-san!" she answered and walked to her closet.

"Leave her to her fantasizing Yuriko," Kenro's playful voice said loudly.

"And what would my studious Michiru be fantasizing about?" Yuriko asked in mild curiosity.

Kenro's booming laughter echoed throughout the condo. "I don't know! They're teenagers! They're bound to fantasize about…sleeping…together…with someone…?"

_Oh my God! Oji-san!_ Michiru mentally screamed.

"Well hurry up nevertheless Michiru-chan," her mother replied sounding a little flustered now. "Your father and Kenro wanted to spend the day with us. It's an event of a lifetime…we have to milk it for all it's worth."

"Yes," Michiru sighed and gathered clothes to wear for the day. She went to her private bath and turned on the shower. Hopefully, here in her element, she could have a chance to breathe and relax.

Thirty minutes later, both teens came out of their rooms fully dressed, but still looking red and flustered. They refused to look at one another or the grinning Vice President of TWE.

"Are you two feeling alright?" Yuriko asked with worry. "Your faces are very red."

Their eyes widened.

"We—we're fine Okaa-san," Michiru stammered.

"Yeah, there's this…umm… flu going around in Mugen. A lot of the students have caught it," Haruka lied. Michiru gave her a questioning look as she shrugged. "Well, there sort of is."

Yuriko gave the two teens another worried glance as Akira stepped in. "Well, are you two feeling well enough to join us in our little outing?"

"Of course Otou-san."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Great!" Kenro boomed and stood up from the sofa. "Let's go! Our bodyguards are probably getting restless outside."

They all began walking to the front door when Michiru stopped suddenly, realization dawning on her face. "You have keys to my condo?"

Hearing this, the two Kaiohs immediately stiffened.

They gave each other an uneasily look as Kenro shrugged and replied with an amused smirk, "I picked the lock. I wanted to see if I could still do it."

"Otou-san, Okaa-san, please tell me you don't have keys to my condo," Michiru plead in exasperation.

"Well," Yuriko started. "It was more your father's idea…"

"Yuriko!" Akira yelled in surprise. "Don't believe her Michiru-chan, it was both our ideas."

The violinist looked at both of her parents in extreme annoyance. Before she could say anything more, a low voice stated next to her, "It's not a big deal Michiru-san." Michiru looked at her bodyguard with disbelief as she touched her from the small of her back. "After the sniping they wanted to make sure that they could go to you without any interference. It wasn't to disrespect your decision to be independent; it was merely a safety precaution."

Michiru's frown deepened as their eyes locked. Haruka's green orbs expressed exactly what the violinist hoped it didn't: that she understood why she was mad, but that dropping it was the best choice of action for all of them because of her explanation. After a few seconds, she shook her head in irritation, sighed and finally nodded understandingly. Her parents gave Haruka a thankful smile as all of them headed out of the condo and to the hallway where the Kaiohs' and Kenro's entourage waited patiently.

"Saiki, Muro, Kei, Daigo… Toriyama?" Haruka looked at the last man questioningly while greeting each person she formerly addressed.

Kenro came up from behind her and gave Toriyama a little smile. "Akira and I felt that Toriyama-kun has been stuck in the office too recently so we asked him to join us for our outing today."

The blonde's eyebrows went up questioningly, but nevertheless nodded. "I trust my instructions were carried out after I left yesterday?" she asked still eyeing Toriyama as she did so.

The burly man nodded. "It's all taken care of."

Saiki looked down at his feet as Haruka passed him without a second look. They all managed to miraculously fit themselves in the elevator and a minute later, walked out of the first floor.

"Where are we heading off to?" Michiru asked in curiosity as they all boarded a stretch white Escalade that was waiting outside of her condominium complex. She sat in between Haruka and Kenro as her parents and Saiki sat to her right and the rest of her bodyguards to her left.

"Your mother misses her brother. We're going down to their place just for a visit," Akira explained.

Michiru's sighs came in deeper this time, her mind contemplating on dragging her bodyguard with her and running out of the car. Simply put, she hated going to her uncle's. The reason he and his family were nice to her father was because of his social status, nothing else. When they were first introduced to him, prior to TWE's infancy, their dislike for him was showed quite openly and in abundance, yet after getting word that the company Akira had made prospered, they flocked to him as if he was always welcome to the family.

Michiru also had a second reason for disliking that family and that was Hana, her uncle's daughter. They were born at practically the same time and had almost always been each other's company at childhood, but for some reason they never got along. As far back as Michiru could remember, her cousin, without any clear reasoning would accuse her of everything, from stealing her toys to being a spoiled brat.

On one occasion, Michiru having enough of it finally fought back…literally. Being accused of doing something she hadn't again, she spat back mocking Hana's family's financial situation without her father's generosity. One thing led to another and before anyone could stop them, a fight ensued. Michiru never set foot in her uncle's place again.

_Five years later and here I am again…_ she sighed audibly as she heard Kenro laugh next to her, making her look at him questioningly.

"Oh Akira, do you remember when Michiru-chan and that Hana girl got into a fight?" He laughed uncontrollably as Akira gave out a heartfelt chuckle.

"That wasn't funny," Yuriko intervened. "Those two could've been seriously hurt."

"Oh you should've seen her Haruka-chan, it was priceless. It looked like a chicken just scratched the living hell out of her! Who knew she could punch though right, Akira? That Hana brat clawed at her, but she came swinging back, all fists and no nails!" Kenro exclaimed heartily and quite proudly.

Michiru's cheeks reddened as the memories of that day came tumbling back, but Haruka only smiled, even rubbing the violinist's cheeks as she did so. "Well it's a good thing there were no permanent damages."

Her adoptive father grinned at her as her eyes widened to what just slipped from her mouth. Michiru's cheeks only doubled in redness.

"Well she did get her beauty from her mother!" Akira replied, not really taking into account of the two's closeness.

Yuriko blushed as she patted her husband's arm. "Akira, calm yourself."

Seeing that his best-friend didn't catch on to what his hormone-driven daughter just said, Kenro began talking in the language that he and Haruka spoke in. He taught it to her during the first month that they began living together and it was a language in some form of crazy gibberish that even after this whole time, Akira still haven't deciphered. It was only taught and passed down the Morimoto line and the last two, not counting the blonde and Kenro, died in a car accident with it.

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

All the passengers in the car looked at the vice president of TWE in confusion as utter nonsense spewed from his mouth. Only Haruka who resumed looking at the window after messing up didn't pay attention to him.

"Excuse me, Oji-san?" Michiru asked.

"Oh don't mind him," Akira replied. "It's him and Haruka-chan's gibberish talk. When they don't want others…namely me…to know what they're talking about, they convert to that language."

Everyone nodded understandingly as they looked back to Haruka. She however remained silent.

"Am I gonna ask again?" the black haired man asked.

"Am I gonna tell you what?" Haruka asked now talking in gibberish as well.

Michiru smiled. _She sounds cute._

"You know exactly what I'm talking about so why are you beating around the bush?"

Everyone swapped their attention to each person like they were watching a long rally in a tennis match.

"It was nothing. You caught us at a bad time," the pianist shrugged.

"No, not this morning. I know that was just your bad luck. Have you always liked her?"

"Why are you asking this?" Haruka now looked away from the passing view outside and towards her adoptive father. She caught a glance at Michiru's curious face, gave a smile to her and frowned as she locked eyes with Kenro.

"I just want to settle a long time hunch."

"And what hunch is that?"

"You like my Goddaughter."

"Of course I do," Haruka nodded. "She's nice, easy to get along with—

"Haruka-chan, if you pull my leg one more time, I'm going to show Akira a picture I took of both of you in the sofa this morning before you realized I was there."

Haruka's eyes doubled in size as she stared at her surrogate father incredulously. "No…you wouldn't…"

Kenro dug into his pockets and brought out a slim flip phone. "Try me…"

Haruka's hand cut through the air as she attempted to snatch it, but Kenro promptly placed it back in his pockets.

"Kenro-san, please—

"Don't beg Haruka-chan. It doesn't suit you," Kenro said grinning. "Now tell me before my talkative little mouth gets away with telling Akira what transpired this morning. And believe me I have evidence backing my claim."

Haruka shook her head in disbelief. "You're willing to blackmail a person who's been like a daughter to you??"

The built, black haired man gave what looked like a pretty sadistic grin. "Oh you know I am. Anything to know how you really feel. Trust me when I say that I really need to know if my hunch is right."

"I told you already! She's nice, easy to get along with—

"Not good enough. Just tell me straight out Haruka-chan. Have you always liked my Goddaughter?"

Haruka sighed in frustration. She really didn't know why she didn't want to tell him about her feelings towards the aqua haired girl. Deep down inside, she already knew that Kenro wouldn't mind, but something that screamed privacy kept her stubbornness in check. She looked at Kenro's smirking face and there in his eyes held only the curiosity of an answer seeking father.

_I can't believe I'll have to resort to this…but it's my last chance. If it doesn't work, I'll be forced to tell him._

She cleared her voice audibly and in the softest, girliest voice she could muster, stated softly, "Why are you being so cruel Otou-san?"

Kenro's resolve and heart immediately broke apart. _No!! She did NOT just use that on me! Noooo! She knows it's my weakness…ugh…ugh…I can't…ask…anymore. That look…that voice…just…too much._

Haruka smirked victoriously. She knew it was in the bag.

Kenro sighed, frowned, and crossed his arms. "Fine," he stated reverting back in the language all of them understood. "That was cheap and you know it."

"So were your means of getting my answer," Haruka answered also in Japanese now.

"I'll let it go for now. I need to pick up the pieces of my heart."

Haruka's smirk widened into a grin. "You're so dramatic."

Michiru sat in the middle of it all completely amused. Just when she was about to ask the blonde what it was all about, the Escalade came to a halt. Everyone stepped out and the first thing Haruka noticed was that they were in a pier in front of a huge seaplane.

"My uncle lives on an island," Michiru answered the unstated question.

Haruka nodded understandingly as they all boarded the charming humongous sized plane. The inside was decorated to look like a living room with wide leather one seater recliners scattered around the enclosed space and a wide circular table in the middle of it. The bathroom was at the farthest end and the cockpit at the other end.

The engine of the plane rumbled as everyone sat down on a seat and strapped themselves in with the seatbelts adorning the sides of the recliners.

"How many years has it been since you've seen your beloved cousin Michiru-chan?" Kenro asked playfully as soon as they had lifted off.

Michiru rolled her eyes and with an exasperating smile brushed off her Godfather's nudging hand.

"Well the two of you are young women now," Yuriko replied. "You're mature enough to settle a petty fight that happened in your childhood."

"I am, but I'm not very sure about her. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree…I'm sure Takeyo Oji-san's attitude wouldn't have changed if Otou-san's company wasn't successful," Michiru stated without missing a beat.

"That's a little harsh Michi-chan," Akira stated, but his voice held no tone of reprimand.

The violinist shrugged. "It's not far from the truth."

Yuriko looked at her daughter's dark look and shook her head sadly. She really didn't blame her daughter for the attitude she sported around her relatives on her side of the family.

She and Akira met in Tokyo U. She was studying law and he was studying computer programming. After being introduced to one another, by none other than Kenro, they hit it off and started going out. A year into the relationship and everything started falling apart.

Akira had to drop out of the University for unpaid loans and more importantly, Yuriko became pregnant. Her family was furious. They demanded for her to get an abortion and to stop seeing Akira for the sake of her future, but in the end, she did the exact opposite. She kept the baby, dropped out of Tokyo U in her seventh month, and married Akira soon after. They went to live with Kenro after Takeyo, Yuriko's older brother, refused to help her out.

Around this time, Kenro and Akira began coming up with advances for computer programs, something that they both did in their spare time when they were out of work. Yuriko gave birth to Michiru many months later and with the help of Sakura, Kenro's wife, she was able to go back to studying law. Sakura, already having a one year old Yumi to take care of, volunteered to baby sit Michiru during the weekdays when Yuriko was studying while Akira and Kenro began what would be the infancy of TWE: selling their computer programs to anyone who was vaguely interested

A few years down the line and Yuriko finally got her masters in law. With the new income pouring in, she helped Akira and Kenro by renting a warehouse for them where they could operate on, not only their new ideas for software, but new technologically advanced toys and gadgets like cameras, computers, and the like. Their ideas and software were such high in quality that current multi-million dollar companies actually stood in line to buy it off of them. Three or so years later, TWE was a growing independent entrepreneurship, selling anything related to the word technology.

It was around this time that Yuriko's family received the information that Akira had become successful, and almost immediately began communicating with them again, even going as far as volunteering to baby sit Michiru who was, by then, five and a half. With Akira's go-ahead, Yuriko gave the family a second chance at befriending her husband, but tragedy struck close to a year later.

After a heated argument between Kenro and Sakura about Kenro's piling workaholic habits, Sakura took Yumi out of their house to drive to a hotel to spend the night. It was raining heavily and thunder roared in the distant, but in his growing frustration, Kenro didn't stop them. They lived atop a hill in one of the secluded multi million dollar houses perched there and the road going down was steep with lots of hairpins and curves. One minor mistake like speeding was all it took for a car to be pulled into one of those curbs and crash into the barricades. Minutes after his daughter and wife left, Kenro drove after them and was met down the road with a ghastly sight. The barricades on one of the curbs was heavily dented and torn. When he rushed out of his car to investigate, he saw a car, a Mercedes S-Class, miles down the cliff, burning and smoking. The rain, no matter how hard it poured, could not put it out.

By some luck, Akira came to check up on Kenro to tell him how IBM was looking at buying some programs from them and stopped him from almost joining his wife and daughter.

Yuriko's family heard about the news of Kenro's family and struck. It was pathetic really how all of Yuriko's cousins flocked to a mourning, broken man after her brother came up with the idea to court him while he was weak. That was probably the only time a then six year old Michiru saw her father in complete rage.

It got to the point where her family was going to sever all ties with Yuriko's side and it wasn't helping at all that Takeyo was refusing to apologize. Just before it got completely out of hand, he did apologize and Akira reluctantly forgave him. Michiru loved her father's compassionate side, but couldn't help, but feel that her mother's family was undeserving.

A year or so after Kenro's wife and daughter died, Michiru and Yuriko were surprised to see a lively, smiling Kenro. Almost overnight, Kenro's old personality from before he lost his wife and daughter came back in full force. Michiru didn't understand what had transformed her broken Godfather then, but now that answer was sitting next to her, reading a motor sports magazine.

Her family continued to visit her mother's side for the sake of keeping up some form of communication, but after fighting with her stuck up cousin, Michiru ceased joining them. Kenro didn't like them much either. After finding out that Takeyo grouped all of his female cousins together to attack him while he was down, he went into a fit of anger. Akira calmed him down some, but his dislike for Yuriko's dysfunctional family never disappeared. He just decided to join them for the weekend because he didn't want to get stuck in his office talking about the same problems with the Board of Directors.

"So, Haruka-chan how's school?" he asked changing the sore subject away from Yuriko's family.

"Fine," came Haruka's short reply. She flipped the magazine nonchalantly.

"Haruka's bad at Modern Japanese," Michiru quipped.

Haruka narrowed her eyes and playfully smacked the other girl's arm with the magazine.

"Well it's true," the violinist exclaimed.

"Well you don't have to tell everyone," Haruka shot back.

Kenro laughed. "Yup, Haruka-chan was always bad at Modern Japanese."

Haruka rolled up the magazine and threw it to her left at her surrogate father.

"Well it's true!" Kenro grinned as he caught the magazine with his right hand.

"I hear an echo," Haruka muttered and followed up by cleaning her ears.

"You know Tenoh-san, you and Kenro are pretty acquainted," Yuriko observed.

"Yeah," Haruka nodded. "I've been working with him for quite some time."

Yuriko smiled as Kenro ruffled her hair messily. "She's my personal slave," he joked.

The blonde slapped his hand away as she combed her hair back with her fingers. "Can it old man!"

Her surrogate father laughed as he grabbed the blonde's neck and attempted to hold her down in a head lock. He did so successfully as Haruka writhed underneath him, grunting as she attempted to free herself from his strong grip.

"It's a losing battle Haruka-chan." Kenro smiled evilly as an idea flitted in his head. "Akira, would you like to see a picture I took?"

Haruka's eyes widened. The Kaiohs and bodyguards looked on at the two as Haruka's effort doubled in trying to get out of the lock and Kenro's hand managed to take his flip phone out.

"No! No! Come on Kenro-san, that's not funny," she yelled and wriggled again.

"What picture?" Akira asked curiously.

"A cute picture I took this morning," Kenro answered slyly.

Understanding dawned on a once amused violinist's face. "Oji-san, no!"

"Get it from him Michiru-san!" Haruka yelled, but before Michiru could get out of her seat, Kenro had snaked the phone back in his pocket.

"It's a losing battle Haruka-chan," the black haired man said again with a snicker. "I work with Akira. I can show it to him whenever I please."

Haruka grunted as she tried to pry his big arms away from her neck. Failing miserably, she sighed and looked up at him in difficulty and extreme annoyance. "What do you want?"

"Answer my previous question without sarcasm," her surrogate father replied easily.

She groaned and nodded, "Yes, I do."

"More than a friend?"

"Yes, more than a friend."

"For a while now?"

"For a very long time now."

"Since when?"

"Pictures and storytelling days."

Kenro eyes widened as he gave a sharp whistle. "Wow…that's a very long time."

Haruka narrowed her eyes. "Yes it is. Can you let go of me now?"

Kenro ruffled her hair affectionately one last time and let go. Haruka sat up straight on her chair and rubbed her neck.

"Did I hurt you?" There was a clear note of genuine concern in the vice president's gruff question.

Haruka shook her head. "Terminate the picture and it'll be settled."

Kenro pouted. "But it's a cute picture Haruka-chan. Don't you want a copy?"

By this time Haruka's eyes were slits.

"Don't worry, I won't show it to anyone else." He laughed heartily as the others looked on at the two's cryptic conversation.

"Can I look?" Akira asked out of sheer curiosity. Whatever it was, his daughter didn't want him to see it as well, only reinforcing his wish for knowing what it is.

But Kenro shook his head. "Sorry partner in crime. I can't go back on my word."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be descending in two minutes. Please buckle your safety belts and wait patiently in your seats until we've completely stopped," the pilot informed over the intercom.

Akira smiled understandingly and followed suit to what everyone was doing. As the plane began descending, Haruka's eyes locked with her surrogate father's.

"Haruka-chan," he called and patted her hand. "You've got good taste."

Haruka smiled back. "Glad you approve."

AN: Alright…so this had a lot of back story concerning Michiru's family… I thought it'd be important to explain how a lot of things came to be and to prepare you guys for more...original characters. Hey…I told you there'd be a lot of them. The next few chapters is going to be about the outing, more Haruka and Michiru character development, and by the end of it some sort of answers to suspicions regarding Akira's company's situation. I think that's all I'm gonna give out for now regarding where this story's going…I'll satiate some H&M appetite here and there so you don't feed me to the lions, but they're not gonna get together quite yet. XD It's like dangling a banana over a hungry ape… O.O not that u guys are apes to me… Okay I'm stopping before I trip myself. About Haruka and Kenro's gibberish language…I have no idea how it goes. I've heard a lot of my friends speak a form or two of gibberish (I think they were different but I could be wrong) and until now I don't have a clue as to what they were talking about. If you're a part of the few who look at people questioningly when they start saying asdfgadsfwertswwgxvcsdgf…you're in the same boat as everyone in that limo except the adoptive father and daughter. Oh, and I know this chapter seems shorter than my last, but I felt stopping it further would've been a bad transition. Okay, convos:

RaginFireDesire: Not yet…not yet XD more torture… hahaha

Agent-Ayu: Sigh I used to be able to do it back in the days and for some reason I always did it on a Sunday…fell asleep at church especially during the homily.

Petiyaka: What about a little bit of both?? XD

Reusch: Heh…I don't know where I got the idea for the last task…it's just the meanest, craziest thing to pop in my head so…there it was. Glad you liked it.

RachelAe: sigh Toriyama…yeah, as a writer I guess I haven't stepped over that block of stereotypes as of yet. I felt like at the moment, especially at the scene he was the perfect bad guy and I'm sorry if I played it to its most extreme extent. To answer your question, yes, of course Kenro's trust on him has dwindled and Haruka's as well. It wouldn't make sense that they'd all be nice and happy to one another after such a grueling event. As for him being the mole shrug Could be the sniper, the money launderer, the guy who's in the wrong place at wrong time?… :) Have you heard of Utada Hikaru's songs called Wait and See and Time Will Tell? Cuz that's my answer for that. :D Now, Michiru…I have an explanation for Michiru and I'm sorry it wasn't in this chapter…nor I think it'll be in the next one, but trust me…we'll be diving in her psyche.

Akilahc: Heh your English sounds fine to me. As for Haruka I kind of wondered if I was making her into a super kid. I definitely didn't want her to seem super human…or else people will start thinking she'll be able to transform next chapter (for anyone who got excited reading that she won't…read chapter one AN).

Smartieox: O.O no freagin way. I didn't make a mistake?? Pft…you're going to rub it in my face after this chapter… I'm psyching myself up for that one. AND I'M NOT EVIL…dude it reminded me of all the times I stayed up for Diablo and those other video games too…cuz I wouldn't be able to just lay on a bed and stay awake w/o doing anything…I'd have to be pressing buttons and pushing my face against some kind of screen… You like the teasing in this chapter?? XD I crack myself up sometimes…and the editing…the editing makes me update slower…I'm sorry. You know this already…you were one of the ones I told this to… XD hang in there. I'll try to do it quicker… but at the same time I don't want to read a review from you starting out with :P HAH YOU GOT (BLANK) WRONG!! But please…once again…if I do…say so XD

Cybeleflame: Well there was background Akira information here, but little by little you'll know him. He's a side character I like to grow without the need of sharing his history…although I already sorta did that…

Leen: Reviews are the best form of motivation. Thank you for the wonderful compliments. There's none better than hearing the characters I'm writing about being similar to their canon counterpart. I personally love the feeling of being engaged to a story, so I'm glad I'm doing that for you.

LitaDelacour: Poor Haruka…she had it bad. Don't worry, Michiru'll reconcile for it. XD

Thepillows93: hahahah your review got me laughing a lot. Yes…grammar is of the utmost importance in my book. Nothing peeves me more than bad grammar…(and wrong use of contractions right smartieox?) and spelling…and… yeah…well you know all these things create a better flowing storyline. When I can't write a story with these kinds of elements I shouldn't even try cuz I know exactly how you feel…pressing a link to a story and glancing at the FIRST sentence only to stare at it for a couple more seconds than normal and sorta sigh hitting that back button as you do so cuz that first line you read didn't make sense…it sucks… makes me not wanna read anything...and fry my brain with video games (I think I just used it as an excuse) XD ty for the kind words.


	8. The Kokuyos

After their small father-daughter moment, Haruka chanced a glance outside and her vision was met with a small island. It was more or less ten miles long, from the northernmost to the southernmost tip. Decent sized family houses were scattered more along the northern and central part of the island while the main city, consisting of bustling factories and even several storied buildings were located in the south.

"It's like a mini community," the blonde observed out loud.

"It's my hometown." Yuriko replied and gave a nostalgic smiled. "All my family members live here. I was the only one brave enough to step foot out of it, but then again most people that live here are like my family; they spend their childhood here so most don't ever like leaving. I guess it's the typical way of life in small community islands."

"I see," Haruka stated, nodded, and looked back out of the window.

The plane descended to the southern part of the island where a large pier was located near a marina and when it finally hit the water and successfully connected with a pier, all of them got out and boarded another already waiting stretch Escalade. They drove through and out of the city into the more suburban portion of the island and stopped in front of a white two story house that overlooked the sparkling pristine waters. A man with wavy, short, blue hair stood in front of the house and smiled as he saw the Escalade drive in. When everyone finally got out, he walked over to them with a flashy, almost egocentric smile.

Haruka already had the feeling that she and this man would not be able to get along.

"Imouto," he greeted and hugged Yuriko.

"Onii-san," she greeted back.

"Ahh, Kaioh, what's going on? And is this…yeah…it is isn't it? Michiru-chan?" Tetsuya shook hands with Akira and received a half smile from Michiru. "My God you've grown! How long has it been??"

_Not long enough apparently_, Michiru thought to herself, but kept her half smile up to the man in front of her.

"And you're that…one guy…" he trailed off pointing to Kenro.

_Yeah, the guy you took advantage of you stupid ass dic—_Kenro grunted inwardly, but nevertheless gave a fake smile. "Morimoto, Kenro."

"Right! The VP of the company!"

They shook hands and Haruka almost beamed in pride from seeing the discomfort and hurt Tetsuya received from Kenro's rough handshake.

He waved his hand in front of him in an attempt to dull out the pain and looked then at the entourage. "Who are these? They all match…reminds me of that American movie, Men in Black."

"Well you heard about the sniping— Yuriko began to explain, but was cut off shortly.

"Oh yeah, right! The sniping… so these are like…some sort of bodyguards?"

"Yes," Yuriko answered.

They stood outside in silence for a few seconds after the introductions and finally Tetsuya spoke again. "Well let's not all stand out here. Let's go inside and have some lunch. I ordered some take out."

He turned around and headed into the house, the rest of the group following shortly. Kenro slung his arm around the blonde.

"You don't like him." It was a statement, not a question.

Haruka narrowed her eyes as she observed him from behind. "He has power issues. He feels that he needs to be better than anyone in any form of social status, especially when he's forced to be compared when in a group. When someone comes and destroys that fact, he plays it off like that person is unimportant. For example, he claimed he didn't know you when in actuality he can never forget. He can never get over the fact that Akira-san is way over his league so he calls him by his last name with no regards to honorifics. In the next couple hours of our lives he's probably going to be sucking up to Kaioh-san in hopes of getting money from her for his house, a yacht sitting in one of the piers, and a fast car he keeps in his garage. He hopes that when she does give him money that it'll be more than enough to pay for all the extra things he's bought, but can't pay for himself. He's the type of person who'll only give if he knows he'll be paid back tenfold and he would give away the family in hopes of inheriting a fortune."

Michiru looked at her incredulously as she finished. "How do you do that?"

The blonde shrugged. "I sort of picked up while training with the seals."

They stepped foot in the house and were ushered to the living room. Akira and Yuriko sat on the loveseat as Kenro and Michiru sat on the long sofa.

"We're going to do a security check in and around the perimeter of your house," Haruka spoke out to Tetsuya as the bodyguards around her waited for directions.

Tetsuya looked at the blonde and gave a smirk. "I'm not hiding criminals if that's what you mean. Is this guy a bodyguard too? He seems too young."

"Even then," Haruka stated, louder and firmer this time. "We will have to check the surrounding areas and the interior of your home. Please don't get in the way of our job."

A dark look came over Tetsuya's features as he gave an incredulous look at the little kid attempting to order him and tell him what to do. "Who the hell are you to talk to me in my house like that?" He stared at Haruka who only gave a nonchalant expression back, holding in the eye rolling she desperately wanted to give out. After a few seconds, he broke their staring contest and looked at his younger sister who only looked away in discomfort.

Suddenly, Kenro spoke out, an obvious and rough hint of annoyance laced in his voice. "It's their job to protect us from harm. This is merely a security check. If you can't handle it, we'll leave."

Tetsuya's eyes widened as his eyes grazed over the dark look the vice president of TWE gave him. "No! Of course I don't have a problem with it…go ahead…search to your heart's content…"

"And if you don't mind," Kenro continued, his voice grasping more authority. "Watch yourself when you talk to Haruka. I don't care what you say to the others, but if you say anymore to her than you already have, you'll see a side of me you wished you never even touched on."

Michiru's uncle swallowed audibly, looked at a passive Haruka and a frowning Kenro and nodded. "I—it was just sudden with the whole security thing, that's all Morimoto." He smiled uneasily as the black haired man's steely eyes grazed at him and softened as he stared behind him to a waiting Haruka.

"Go ahead."

The blonde turned to the five bodyguards behind her and gave all of them the same passive look she's been sporting the whole time. "Muro, Saiki check upstairs. Daigo, Kei, check the perimeters. Toriyama, check the left wing. I'll check the right. Meet back here in less than five."

All of them nodded upon understanding and broke off. Michiru smiled proudly at Haruka's show of authority. She didn't flinch when her uncle yelled at her questioningly nor give a power trip to her subordinates. She was just…Haruka. Plain, but special Haruka. If it wasn't for the fact that she knew the blonde would be by her side, she probably would not have joined her parents today, regardless of how rare the time they spent together was. She disliked her uncle's attitude and furthermore, hates her cousin's. Speaking of which, she heard her uncle say her _beloved_ cousin's name.

"Yeah, she and Kotoko went to shop for clothes. They left a while ago so they should be coming back soon. They knew you were coming and they'd die first rather than miss your visits."

Michiru rolled her eyes while her mother only laughed.

"God, this guy is so freakin' fake," her Godfather's voice whispered in her ear. She laughed sending her uncle and parents' attention to hers. "How annoying."

The other three continued to look at the two questioningly as Kenro gave them back his quizzical look. After a while, they went back to their idle conversation as Kenro took out his cell phone.

"Do you really have a picture?" Michiru asked.

Kenro eyed her and smiled wickedly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Actually I would," the violinist replied easily. "May I see it?"

Kenro smiled and flipped the phone open. He scrolled down to the photos and there on the first page was a picture of Haruka and Michiru sleeping peacefully on the sofa. Haruka was underneath Michiru and had both her hands wrapped around the smaller girl's waist protectively and Michiru had her face laid down on her shoulders, her hands sort of embracing her neck. Michiru couldn't help, but smile. It's like their bodies fit perfectly together; like two missing jigsaw puzzles finally connected.

"I thought I told you to delete that picture?"

They both turned their heads to see Haruka behind them, giving the picture a once over. A faint blush colored her cheeks some as she remembered the still too real wake up call they both received.

"But Haruka, I want a copy," Michiru pouted. "We look cute."

Haruka sweatdropped. "You do know that Kenro-san could blackmail me for life because of that picture right?"

Kenro laughed gruffly. "Oh come on, I will not. I got what I wanted from you. This picture's just keepsake." And then turned to the shorter girl. "You said you wanted a copy Michiru-chan?"

The violinist nodded. "I'd love one."

"Great! I'll be sure to have it printed and framed for you by, let's say, tomorrow?"

Haruka narrowed her eyes as Michiru nodded again in consent. The rest of the bodyguards came back inside and gave the all-clear to Haruka once she spotted them.

"So, Morimoto," Tetsuya spoke up, "I heard about your deal with Sony. How's that working out?"

As Kenro began speaking, Michiru stood up grabbing Haruka's attention. "We'll just go walk around the neighborhood if you don't mind, Otou-san, Okaa-san."

Her parents nodded as she inserted her arm around Haruka's and literally dragged the other girl outside.

"Did you have other plans today?" Haruka asked as they began walking around the block. Their arms were still locked together, making people outside their homes eye them curiously.

"No, not really, but I'd rather do nothing than spend time here," the smaller girl said softly.

"I don't blame you. Your uncle's rude by nature."

The violinist could only shrug. "I'm surprised of my father's patience in him. I lost mine ages ago when I grew old enough to understand what he did to Kenro Oji-san."

"Akira-san is a compassionate man. I've messed up so many times around him, but he never raised his voice at me, never reprimanded me…nothing. Kenro-san's like that too. They have so much power in their hands, but they're not fazed by it. I think that's probably why I respect and look up to them so much. Your uncle on the other hand, would probably turn corrupt if he ever got his hands on some of TWE. He's a power seeker. He converses with both Kenro-san and Akira-san because it makes him feel important."

Michiru smiled and pulled Haruka closer. "See? That's why I like you. You understand me in more ways than most can."

Haruka smiled back at her and it would've been a pretty nice scene, until a shrill cry from a passing car stole both of their attention. The car, a black Audi S4 Cabriolet, came to a screeching halt and reversed back to them. The tinted windows opened and there appeared a brunette haired girl with a very white and pointy face in the passenger side. On the driver's was a woman with the same features, only older.

"Oh-my-God," she seemed to breathe out and exited of the car.

She was a little taller than Michiru, but was still short compared to the blonde. She wore really short shorts and a white shirt that hugged her body with the kanji Hime written where her boobs popped out. Her hair was put up in a ponytail and her white complexion was, from Haruka's guess, unnatural sources.

_People normally don't look dead._

"Michiru-chan you've gotten fat!"

At these words, Haruka's eyes immediately narrowed. Michiru however looked at the girl indifferently.

"It's nice to see you too Hana-chan." Her voice was icy, the honorific simply put there because of their history and blood line.

Hana gave her the elevator look and then spotted Haruka. "My god, who's the hunk?" she asked giving her a wink.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at her outspokenness as she felt Michiru's hold tighten. "This is Tenoh Haruka…my bodyguard," she stated the last part, albeit reluctantly.

"Kokuyo Hana," she greeted and winked at her again while flashing a seductive smile.

Haruka nodded her head in greeting, but didn't say a word.

"So he isn't your boyfriend then?" the brunette replied, speaking to Michiru, but never leaving her eyes off of Haruka's. "What do you say for going out with me tonight?"

The tall girl almost lost all composure at that moment in a burst of laughter. She had never met anyone so straightforward and brash before. Managing to keep herself in check she glanced at Michiru who was sporting the darkest look she's ever seen her make.

_You don't really think I'm going for this, do you Michiru?_ Her glance spoke her words, but the other girl merely stared daggers at her cousin who did not see or just chose to ignore her, always looking at the blonde.

She sighed inwardly in amusement. She knew it seemed egoistic of her, but she knew how charming she could be if she truly wanted to. Yes, Michiru was the only girl she's ever liked or loved if she was already in that stage, which she felt she was, but that didn't mean she didn't flirt at all. On the contrary, flirting was the reason why she knew she was interested in girls to begin with—she never flirted with a guy; she considered them her opposition when getting the attention of the same gender. With that in mind she decided to play along, finally giving the brunette girl in front of her a smile. Not just any smile though…this was her disarming smile. The same one she sported in front of the class full of girls that immediately became puddle at her feet. This was also the same smile that the violinist glared at when it was directed to anyone, but her.

Apparently, Hana wasn't immune to the smile. Her knees promptly went weak and her eyes gave the same sparkle of hope that any girl Haruka's ever smiled this way to gave. Michiru saw the annoying smile on her bodyguard's face and immediately went livid. She couldn't believe Haruka would flirt with her cousin of all people, especially after hearing what their history contained. Feeling extremely annoyed and disappointed, she took her arm out of Haruka's and crossed it across her chest. Unfortunately for her the tall girl did not seem to mind making her want to turn around and run back. But her feet stayed rooted to the spot letting her see first hand how charming her bodyguard could be.

"Your invitation is very enticing," the blonde started, taking a hold of Hana's hand and stroking the top of it with her thumb. Her smile kept the other girl enraptured as a mischievous glint crossed her dark green orbs. Her low husky voice even added to the effect. She could just see Michiru in her peripherals, frowning, angry…sad? She decided to end it quickly. "But… I'm just not into…necrophilia…do you realize it's a sin as well as a crime?"

Michiru's eyes widened as the spell between the blonde and her cousin broke. Haruka gave a smirk and turned to the violinist as Hana's face contorted with rage and fury. With a reassuring smile to the surprised aqua haired girl, she took her by the waist and walked away, back towards the angry girl's house.

When they got quite a distance away, they both broke into fits of laughter.

"Haruka, that was so mean," Michiru laughed, slapping the blonde's arm playfully.

Haruka only waved her hand. "She deserved it. Calling you fat…God she's got some nerve. If you're fat…she's a whale…a fat…dead…whale. Beluga's look tanner than her."

Michiru laughed some more and held onto the other girl's waist as well. "Thank you for doing that back there," she replied softly and leaned into the half embrace.

"You really didn't think that I was going to accept her offer did you?" Haruka asked incredulously.

"She is pretty—

"Pretty ugly…"

"Haruka—

"Okay, maybe her face is pretty. I'll give her a maybe 'cuz I really don't think she's all that. But even if she was the most beautiful girl in the world…her attitude still reeks. I bet she can't hold an intellectual conversation for ten seconds."

The black Audi swept passed them, Hana's face frowning in the passenger's seat, giving them both a look of hatred. They saw the car get into the driveway of the Kokuyo property and a minute later, Haruka's phone rang. The blonde delved into her pocket and took out her flip phone.

"Yeah? ...Kenro-san… okay, we're coming… no, we are not making out. Yeah, see you in a bit." Haruka turned off the phone with an exasperated frown as Michiru giggled. "He's a dork."

The aquamarine haired girl smiled up at her. "Yes, but we love him for it."

As they walked back to the house, Haruka stated an acute observation she's made during her stay with the aqua haired girl. "You don't carry a cell phone."

Michiru looked up at her and smiled. "I don't like distractions and cell phones give me this feeling of being…chained for some odd reason. Like I can't be truly free if I have one, so I stave off from them. Sometimes it's a hassle, but more than anything I like it. My responsibilities don't follow me when I don't want them to."

Haruka smiled at that and nodded in understanding.

When they arrived at the house they stepped into an empty living-room.

"Kenro-san said that lunch would be at the deck," Haruka answered the unspoken question.

Michiru led the way to the west wing of the house and opened the sliding door to the deck after they passed the kitchen. Everyone was sitting around a plastic table filled with Chinese takeout.

"I saved seats for both of you," Kenro smiled and pointed to two empty seats between him and Muro.

Tetsuya and his wife, Kotoko, sat at both ends while Yuriko, Toriyama, Daigo, Saiki, and Hana sat on one side and Akira, Kenro, Michiru, Haruka, and Muro sat on the other. Hana, it seemed, had gotten over her spontaneous crush on the blonde bodyguard and was now lavishing all of her attention to an uninterested Saiki.

"How was the walk Michi-chan?" Akira asked as lunch got under way.

The violinist smiled. "It was fine Otou-san. Actually, Haruka and I met up with Hana-chan when we were about to go completely around the block."

"I bet you two got acquainted pretty quickly," Kenro said with a dry smile.

"That would be the nicest way of saying it," Haruka muttered.

Hana shot her a look before going back to eating. She stopped her attempts to courting Saiki momentarily and looked at her cousin venomously.

"So, Michiru-chan," she started with a sickeningly sweet fake voice. "I hear you go to Mugen. The school for… ahem… the gifted? I mean, I've always questioned that word seeing as it has a double meaning and I couldn't help, but think that it was referring to your school as well. What do they mean by that word gifted anyway? Like…special? Cuz you know…special does mean retarded as well…so…is that what it is? A school for retards?"

Haruka stopped the food from coming into her mouth and glared down at the girl in front of her. She beat everyone on speaking first. She'd rather choke on the god awful Chinese takeout she was eating at the moment, than let the other girl get away with her brash words. "Actually, gifted as in talented. Mugen is a selective school who only picks the best of the country's students. The classes are as difficult as Tokyo U's intermediate classes and people with low education, such as yourself, could only go in if you have the class rank to back it up."

"Oh really?" Hana contended quickly now looking at the blonde. "I always thought it was because of Akira Oji-san's…influence."

Michiru remained quiet during the exchange as Haruka corrected her cousin yet again. "If you didn't know, Michiru-san was top of her class in Taisen Gakuen, another exclusive school. That along with the fact that she's a talented violinist and smart enough to overrank two hundred other prodigies is the reason why Mugen accepted her." She stared at the other girl darkly, resting her chin on her propped hands. By this time she could've cared less that the entire table's attention was on them. "So if you don't mind, spare all of us this overly fake way you're acting, just admit you don't like her, act more like your age, and get it over with."

She had successfully made the table go completely quiet.

Not to be defeated so easily, Hana stared back at the blonde regardless of how hard it was to keep eye contact with her dark eyes and spat out, "I'm sorry, who the hell are you?"

"Ask yourself that," Haruka spat back quickly. "Who the hell are you to talk to Michiru-san the way you do? Have some manners. Your father's in the process of kissing some of your cousin's parent's ass. If you continue to act the way you do, you might just have to return the Audi back to the dealership."

Akira looked on at the two and smiled at Haruka's unwavering determination to make sure his daughter's pride didn't get dirtied.

Yuriko on the other hand thought differently. "Tenoh-san, Hana-chan that's enough." Her voice of authority cut through the air like a knife.

Haruka broke her eye contact with the boisterous girl, looked at Yuriko, stood up, shoved a lot of her pride aside, and bowed down apologetically. "I apologize, Kaioh-san," she stated through gritted teeth.

Her contender merely rolled her eyes.

The rest of lunch was generally quiet after the little word slapping and when everyone finally finished eating, the head of the Kokuyo household proposed on going boating.

AN: Alright…this chapter's hella small compared to my other ones but I promise to put up the next one in two or three days' time. Probably two 'cuz I like you guys :D. I'd post them both in one chapter, but editing the next chappy will probably take another two days, give or take 'cuz of my perfectionist attitude (although I'm hella far from it) so I decided to just give you guys this now to digest and then update the other one when I'm done with it. Anyway, some things to explain…Japanese words that are probably familiar to most of you but I'll explain them anyway because of who I am. Imouto means little sister and Onii-chan older brother; of course that was Yuriko and Testuya speaking to one another. Hime (Haruka calls Hotaru it in the anime) is of course princess which was the kanji written on Hana's shirt. Now about the whole "necrophilia" thing. In a lot of Asian countries, the main skin trend is to be as white as you possibly can…you guys know how over here in the US it's tanning salons and all that crap, but over in the Pacific Rim, they do an entire switcheroo and use skin products to actually make their skin whiter instead of darker. I don't know, I guess it's to emulate Western culture or w/e…but anyway that's the trend there. Apparently Haruka thought Hana had been using too much that she looked like she was dead and getting it on with a dead person is considered necrophilia so there's the butt of the joke… I probably didn't need to explain that, but I thought it was funny to explain it anyway. I think that's about all I need to explain. And wow…thank you for all the reviews last chappy btw…all time high :D very happy indeed. XD

Dragonknight23: I love writing about Haruka and Kenro and H&M is a must after all that history lesson in the last couple chapters.

Knightlight: hahah I personally like it when I miss chapters cuz yah…there's more to read. Hehe I'll continue to do as you say and keep it up.

Smartieox: So…here's the next chapter…did you like it?? XD Is it exactly as you expected?? But anyway, I love writing humor. It's the only genre that comes naturally to me, but at the same time I have to add other genres in there as well or the story won't seem right. But yah…I love laugh out loud stories…so I'm glad you liked the comedic side of this one. And I've made you desperate huh? Wow…that's pretty bad. You're not even gonna correct me anymore cuz you're desperate for me to keep going?? Heh… I don't know if I should be happy or not. XD Hope this was a speedy enough update.

Sakura blossoms4: Updating! Updating! I'm trying my best. XD

Cybeleflame: I'm glad you liked the little history bit. I felt like I really needed to add it in there just so everyone has a general feel of the new OC's…I mean I didn't expect everyone to remember them fully in one chappy, but a good indication of who they were was what I was after.

Thepillows93: I would pay Ogata Megumi to talk gibberish…it'll be sorta weird though cuz I wouldn't be able to fully understand her Japanese anyway so what's the point? I wouldn't know if she was talking Japanese gibberish or just plain Japanese XD

Tsubasa: Yes, Haruka pulling that outta her hat showed her desperation…but you're right…they always do work. I wouldn't be able to pull it off.

Bound Dragon: Yep, Haruka has been in love with her for that long XD

Yamato: My favorite OC has to be Kenro. He's a character all on his own…I think if I blow him up to proportion I could even make a story with just him in it and the side charcs would be H&M but at the same time, I don't think people would read it XD. But yes, writing Kenro is a trip.

RaginFireDesire: Heh…well I hope you got a pretty good picture of the sofa scene in your mind after this chappy. And Kenro teasing Haruka does not end in that chapter…no way.

Haruka's Knight: Go to work! Putting food on the table is far more important than reading a fic you'll be able to see afterwards XD. But yes, I love the overall rating people gave on Kenro and Haruka's relationship. It's very easy to write both of them together…puts up a couple laughs too.

Petiyaka: Hahaha I hope you get used to him cuz he is cool in his own right and yup, above all he's very entertaining.

Reusch: Hahaha, well I read somewhere that English was the hardest language to learn, so I'm sure you're in the same boat with a lot of other people, me in particular. More?? More?? Here's more!! XD

RachelAe: You know, reading your review made me want to send you a personal message, but in the end, I decided to put it here since others may ask about it. As to who's related to who…I'll draw it out:

Kaioh Family: Akira (Father) Yuriko (Mother) Michiru (Daughter)

Morimoto Family: Kenro (Father) Haruka (Daughter; yes she's a Tenoh but I'll add her as a Morimoto since she's adopted)

And since it may be a problem because of this chapter too: Kokuyo Family: Tetsuya (Father/Brother) Kotoko (Wife) Hana (Daughter) Yuriko (Sister/ Her last name prior to her marriage with Akira)

Michiru's Godfather is Kenro. In Japan as it is in Western countries, the male's last name is used after a wedding so Akira's last name is Kaioh and Kenro's Morimoto so no, they're not related at all; Akira and Kenro are best friends. In this story I used "Godfather" in a non religious sense in which if something were to happen to Akira and Yuriko before Michiru reached adulthood, Kenro would be the one responsible for her…that's it. She calls him "Oji-san" which technically means uncle and I sort of battled with myself at the beginning of this story about this. I know the term Godfather in Japanese…but I felt that her calling him that all the time seemed too formal, so I decided she would call him uncle. I'd just like to say that I'm Filipino and I'm very used to calling people who are only friends of the family aunt and uncle regardless of them being related to me or not…it's just being respectful I guess…and I sort of used that in this story in the sense that although Kenro isn't Michiru's real uncle like Tetsuya, she calls him that freely out of respect. Hope I cleared it out for you.


	9. Skeletons in their Closet

Chapter 9: Skeletons in their Closet

Not at all minding an escape out of the stuffy house, Akira agreed wholeheartedly with his brother-in-law's idea which canceled out anyone else's opinion. In a matter of minutes they all once again boarded the Escalade and followed the Kokuyo family's other vehicle, a Maybach 62 S, to the pier. Inside the Escalade, all was not as peaceful as the serene weather outside.

"Tenoh-san, I did not appreciate how you spoke to my niece this afternoon," Yuriko reprimanded.

Haruka swallowed her frustration as Kenro exclaimed, "Yuriko, Haruka-chan was protecting Michi-chan from that brat's words!"

"Even then, what she said was rude," the older Kaioh pointed out.

"And that brat wasn't rude for making fun of your daughter? She criticized everything Michiru-chan's ever done! She has to spit dirty comments to hide her jealousy and in the end, she didn't breathe an apology for starting the damn thing!"

"Kenro-san, please," Haruka interrupted. She did not want anymore family fighting for her sake. "That's enough." She looked at Yuriko with an unreadable expression and decided to punch her pride aside once again. "Kaioh-san, I am truly sorry for my acts this afternoon. I just acted through what I thought was right. Michiru-san doesn't deserve Kokuyo-san's vile comments. I know I acted wrongly by engaging in a banter with her cousin. I'll make sure to personally apologize to her and her parents about what I said during lunchtime."

Her voice was forced and steely, but Yuriko took it to heart and nodded while Kenro only frowned beside her, shaking his head in repetition.

"Thank you Tenoh-san that would mean the world to me."

Akira looked on, but didn't comment. Personally, he thought Haruka's biting words rang some if not all of the truth. There has yet been a visit to his wife's brother where he didn't ask for some money and although the elder Kaioh didn't mind giving, it became harder and harder each time as the fake respect for him grew and grew. He looked on at Haruka's frowning face and smiled. _I need to give her a raise…To think she'd go this far for my daughter… I don't think she'd even do it for me!_ He laughed inwardly as Yuriko's voice took him out of his stupor.

"Tenoh-san, you said earlier that you've been working with Kenro for a while now." She's been curious of the tall girl's interactions with Kenro since she's seen them together and she couldn't help, but think that she looked a lot like her late goddaughter. _If Yumi-chan grew to be the tomboy she was, I'm sure she would be much like Tenoh-san…especially with Kenro's personality._

"That's correct Kaioh-san," Haruka replied. She was beginning to feel uneasy as to where this conversation was going.

"How old are you now?'

"Seventeen, ma'am." Yes, very uneasy.

"And you're a bodyguard from the DD?"

"Yes." She knew her superiors kept her a secret from the elder Kaioh for very obvious reasons. Reasons that she wholeheartedly agreed to keep with them as well. She wondered if it would still remain so after this long ride.

"Well that's a bit strange. You shouldn't even be out of high school. Did you drop out to begin with?"

The blonde shook her head. "I've already completed high school. I'm only attending Mugen as a student to cover up the fact that I'm Michiru-san's bodyguard."

"Interesting. You already finished high school?"

"Yes, she did!" Kenro suddenly exclaimed. He was not liking this little interrogation session at all. "What's with all the damn questions anyway? Talk to the other goddamn bodyguards if you're so curio—

"I'm only curious about Tenoh-san," Yuriko replied shortly. "Although I don't know the inner workings of the DD, I believed Saiki-kun to be one of the youngest since the minimum age requirement is eighteen. Akira once told me that the training after the initial acceptance into the program took two or more years…the main reason why all of the bodyguards are over twenty. So I'm just curious as to why Tenoh-san, with an age far below the minimum is considered a top notch bodyguard."

Haruka swallowed hard, hearing it quite audibly in her ears.

_I said too much…damn it. _She knew she was playing on dangerous grounds when she decided to talk back to Hana, but she just couldn't let the conversation go on in the brunette's favor. She did the right thing. And even if in some other dimension where she may have been wrong, she couldn't let her to talk to Michiru the way she had already started. It was her job…as her bodyguard, as her friend, and especially as her—

She swallowed again, her fists balling as she did so. She looked at her surrogate father from her peripherals all the while chanting in her mind, _Calm down, Kenro-san,_ in hopes that she could telepathically get the message through to him. She also glanced at the general direction of her other superior, seeing him in stoned silence. She wouldn't answer the female Kaioh's question, but she already knew… Kenro's short fuse had given out.

In the first couple of years upon becoming his adopted daughter she questioned his very protective attitude towards her. In every respect his personality was calm and almost mellow, but when it came to her he was almost always quick to anger, putting down anything or anyone who happened to question her, anger her, or even annoy her. Over the years, she became used to this pet peeve of his and stopped questioning it, seeing it as one of his ways of showing affection. Simply put, he would not put up with it if _anyone_ troubled her. And this conversation had already stretched the boundaries.

Hoping her surrogate father could hear her, she kept repeating her head in a sort of mantra, _Calm down, Kenro-san, calm do—_

"Because she's been working her ass to become one ever since she was eight!"

She sighed in defeat and slumped in her chair, her eyes closing roughly in reflex. The car rolled down the highway, all of its passengers quiet after the vice president's outburst. Yuriko opened her mouth, a confused look etched on her features. Of all the answers to her question that was not what she was expecting.

"I saved her when I met her at the Red Light District after getting some more programs to work with," Kenro explained, trying to salvage the situation by telling the entire story. "Remember? After Sakura and Yumi-chan died, I only lived to work! I saved her…from bullies who were attacking her and then took her to a hospital. I learned that she was parentless, but was still willing to repay me back for saving her, even at that young age.

"She's my daughter… I adopted her and took care of her and did whatever I could to make her happy. Her one goal was to protect me so together we put her through school and harsh training to become what she is now.

"Have a little bit of gratitude Yuriko, for Christ's sake! She just put down your niece who was doing her best to put down your daughter and you reprimand her for it? I said it to your brother and by God I'll say it to you. I don't give a damn what you say to the other people in the DD…but don't cross it by putting my child down for doing the right thing!"

The blue haired woman was rendered speechless. She hadn't seen that fire burn in Kenro's eyes since the death of his wife and daughter.

"Kenro-san, that's enough," Haruka said softly.

Kenro looked at the blonde, his eyes blazing. "You will _not_ apologize to that pig and her family Haruka-chan. I will _die_ first…than see you apologize for doing what's right!"

Haruka looked at her surrogate father's red face and then stared passively at the floor.

Yuriko, managing to get some control in her system, immediately turned to her husband. "Did you know about this?" Akira didn't answer, opting instead to look uneasily away. His wife narrowed her eyes and muttered, "Of course you did. How can you not know? Why didn't you even bother to tell me anything?"

The elder Kaioh sighed and looked at his almost hysterical wife. "You would not have approved."

"What do you mean I wouldn't have approved? Why the hell not? It obviously made Kenro happy, so why wouldn't I have approved?"

Akira sighed exasperatedly and looked at the blonde sitting in front of him. "Because, Yuriko, we put Haruka-chan through hell." His statement was simple, but the words hung in the air heavily, making the truth of it ring. "We crammed grade after grade in her brain and after that we simply put her through the harshest training regimen we could think of. She learned how to fire guns at thirteen…got acquainted with the intent to kill a week later."

He turned his blue eyes to his wife solemnly, suddenly looking very tired. "You ask why I didn't tell you. It's because I never wanted you to know what we put her through. You want to know what her training regimen called for a week after she learned how to shoot and aim a gun? Alright…at the time, a South Korean island prison facility was somehow taken over by its prisoners, people whom the government deemed traitorous to the country. If it wasn't taken care of in time it would've been an international crisis. So the Korean as well as the United States government gave the go ahead to dispose of the problem quickly so it could be covered. Haruka as well as several other soldiers from both countries' elite forces were dropped in the facility and the higher ups dubbed it a shoot or be shot _game…_the order, to simply kill all prisoners, ignite the place, and make it seem like an accidental fire. Now tell me, would you have let us do this if you knew Haruka-chan?"

His wife could not answer. She looked back at Haruka who was still staring intently at the floor, a frown etched on her young features and glanced at her husband's best-friend and saw that his face, although not as red as before, still claimed an angry scowl.

"W—why did you do that?" she asked in disbelief. "W—what made you think that you could just—

"It's what I wanted," Haruka answered looking up at her. "It's what my pride wanted. Akira-san and Kenro-san were simply fulfilling my wishes."

Yuriko looked at her, a motherly worried look gracing her features. "So you were there all along? During the building of the DD—

"Haruka-chan's first commander," Kenro stated.

Yuriko did a double take and swung her head to the direction of Toriyama. "I thought—

"No, he's second. Haruka's first," Akira replied this time.

Suddenly, the car came to a halt. Looking outside, they realized they had finally reached the harbor.

Kenro looked back at his daughter and stated with finality, "You will not apologize to them Haruka-chan. They do not deserve our family's apology." And without paying heed to his daughter's response, he pried the car door open and left soon after.

Haruka glanced up as she felt a hand touch her arm and saw the object of her desire's mother staring intently at her. "Listen to what your father says. It may not have seemed like it, but I'm truly thankful of you protecting my daughter." She gave her a small smile and exited the car as well.

Akira waited for a second and finally whistled, giving a boyish grin and a thumb's up in unison. "Well, at least that went smoother than I thought. She took it pretty easily ne Haruka-chan?"

"Akira," Yuriko's firm voice stated and her head popped from the outside. The elder Kaioh gave his wife an uneasy smile and a questioning look. "This isn't over between us."

He sweatdropped and got out of the car, muttering on his way, "Yes, dear…"

All the bodyguards gave her a look of awe and respect and left soon after as well. Soon, all that remained were the two roommates.

It was deathly quiet, neither looking at the other. Haruka wanted to say something, but she didn't know where to start or if she should even start. Chancing a small glance at the girl across from her, she noticed a combination of sad and confusion in her face.

She wanted to spare Michiru the details of her training because of the obvious reason: she didn't want to be treated any differently or be looked at in a different light. She definitely did not want the violinist to look at her as if she was a murderer…although that isn't far from the truth. All she wanted was to be seen as her bodyguard and then a potential friend. She knew she already claimed the two titles, but now that everything about her was up in the air, she felt overwhelmed at the fact that the other girl may strip it away now that she knew.

_I should really say something…_

But before she could even open her mouth, the aqua haired girl stood up, gave her an almost unreadable expression, and broke the silence, giving a little bow as she stated, "Thank you for sticking up for me at Tetsuya Oji-san's house." And with the issue of Haruka's past still hanging between them, she turned around and left the car.

The tall blonde sighed in defeat as her heart wrenched. What she feared was looking like it was coming true; the other girl's attitude towards her had obviously changed. She scratched her head in frustration and with a frown on her face, left the car.

She rejoined the group and walked a little further behind the Kaiohs with the other bodyguards, who visibly straightened out as she walked in step with them. She paid little attention to them however and just looked at the back of the violinist who was walking with her surrogate father. Exactly at that moment, she felt something shake within her, like an unfathomable amount of sadness had just overtaken her body.

_Why does she look so far away?_ _She's just there…but she's still so…unreachable. _She cringed inwardly and swallowed the approaching pain in. It was the first time in the entire week she's spent with the smaller girl that she did not know what to say or how to approach her. It was too soon. That part about her was given out too soon. There was no doubt in her mind that if she grew to be best friends with Michiru that she'd share that shady part about her, but in all respects she was still a sort of stranger to her. And what else would anyone think about a stranger who's killed before?

She could only clench her jaw and look forward.

Just fifty meters away was their destination.

The yacht was average sized, plain, and white. The inside as they found after the bodyguards inspected it was pretty lavishly decorated, with black leather seats, a master bedroom, and a bar, but it wasn't anything a few billionaires would even comment on. After the initial inspection, Tetsuya started moving them into the ocean.

As everyone sat inside the bar, Haruka walked outside to find Kenro there as well enjoying the refreshing breeze. She sat next to him and sighed loudly, not caring for the invigorating wind against her face as she normally would.

"I take it Michiru-chan knows your past prior to my outburst?" Kenro asked feeling a little under the weather since the incident in the car.

Haruka nodded. "We spoke about it yesterday after the Saiki incident."

"But you didn't tell her all of it…"

"Of course not. Why would I want to tell anyone that? It makes you and Akira-san look like the bad guys…like you were some abusive, sick, people who got off at seeing me suffer."

Kenro slung his arms around his daughter's shoulders and smiled sadly. "You also didn't tell her because you didn't want her to treat you differently …right?"

Haruka sighed loudly again and rubbed her tired eyes. "Too late for that now…"

"Give it a day. Give it time to sink in. Michiru-chan…she surprises me sometimes with what she does and says. She seemed to have grown quite…fond of you Haruka..."

"Kenro-san…"

"I mean it! I mean, I'd be pretty surprised if she returns your affections, but—

"Where's this coming from?" the blonde asked narrowing her eyes at the vice president.

Kenro laughed heartily. "I just mean that Michiru-chan's not the type to destroy friendships over something that happened in the past. She's a smart girl Haruka-chan…she'll know it wasn't your sadism that made you kill all those people… But… if I'm wrong…and if she does start treating you differently, I'll talk to her—

"No…" Haruka interrupted in an almost defeated way. "You don't have to do anything if that happens…"

The black haired man looked at the teen before him and smiled sadly.

"Haruka-chan, I've never seen you so…" Kenro trailed off as Haruka gave him a perplexed look. "…so…fragile."

Haruka chuckled weakly. "Love sucks…"

Her surrogate father nodded vigorously. "Damn right it does…"

Just as they finished, the center of their conversation came out from the inside of the boat and walked over to them.

"Tetsuya Oji-san said that we'll stop soon," she stated as she neared them. "He'd like everyone to take a dip while the water's still warm."

"Well I'd like it if he stuck a five foot pole up his ass, but I don't think he'll do it so I won't do as he says either," Kenro grunted with a smirk. "Although I think he'll actually do it if I gave him enough money…"

Michiru gave him a reprimanding smile. "Oji-san…"

"Pass…" Haruka replied in a bored manner, waving her hand in front of her passively.

"Are you sure Haruka? I saw a few two piece bathing suits in the back that would really go great on you." Michiru smiled widely, sitting next to the blonde.

"Yeah, no, I don't think so…" Haruka replied gruffly, crossing her arms across her chest. "I've had enough…experiences…to last me a lifetime."

Aquamarine eyebrows raised up as the words left Haruka's mouth quickly. "Experiences? I'd like to hear them…"

Haruka's eyes widened as what she said was caught by the other girl's ears so easily. "Uhh… did I say experiences? I mean—

"Actually Michiru-chan, I have the pictures of the experience Haruka-chan's talking ab—

"Kenro-san!" Haruka yelled cutting off the grinning man as a rosy color crept up her cheeks rapidly. "Would you stop blackmailing me with your damn pictures?!"

"What? A picture of what?" Michiru asked excitedly.

"My Haruka-chan in a bathing suit." Kenro's eyes twinkled maliciously. "Akira and I had her go into a secret ops mission where she had to go undercover in a preliminary Miss Teen Japan contest."

Michiru's eyes literally tripled in size.

"I only did it 'cuz they couldn't find a girl," Haruka grunted in self defense.

"But nevertheless, she did do it." Kenro smirked. "Do I hear a starting bid of one hundred thousand yen?"

"Two hundred thousand!" Michiru stated jovially.

"What the…? Michiru-san, no!"

"Haruka-chan, she'll outbid you if you don't join," Kenro replied grinning.

"Old man, I-am-going-to-kill-you!" Haruka seethed. Then looked away and muttered, "250,000."

"300,000."

"350,000."

"One million."

Haruka's mouth dropped. "One million? Are you freakin nuts?"

Michiru's eyes twinkled maliciously as well, sporting the same look as her surrogate father earlier. "No, I'm just curious. I would like to see you in a bathing suit and I'll go through any means doing it."

Haruka stared at her, mouth agape in disbelief and then swerved her head back to a grinning vice president. "Old man, I mean it! I'm going to kill you!"

"Do I hear two million?" Kenro answered her threat smilingly.

Haruka narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. "Two million."

"Ten million."

"Fifteen."

"Fifty."

"What's going on?" Akira asked suddenly, coming out from the inside of the boat.

"They're bidding on Haruka-chan's pictures when she became a swimsuit model for that one secret ops mission we put her through," Kenro replied grinning.

A sudden look of nostalgia overcame the older Kaioh's features as a reminiscing smile curled up his lips. "Oh…that one. Ha ha ha she didn't talk to us for days. Michi-chan, you don't have to bid. I got copies. I'll let you see them when we get back home."

Haruka felt like wringing both her superiors' necks.

"Really?" an excited Michiru asked. "Great! Thank you Otou-san!"

"Please save me from the embarrassment and just let me go overboard…" Haruka muttered while standing.

Michiru smiled and pulled her shirt back, making her sit down again. "You're not going anywhere."

After a few minutes passed, the yacht finally came to a stop in the middle of the ocean. The island stood twenty miles away, still noticeable because of the hills rolling around and in between it. The rest of the gang came out from inside of the boat, with only the Kokuyos wearing bathing suits.

"There are extra swimming trunks down there if you'd like to join Kaioh, Morimoto, and uhh… young bodyguard. Pardon me, I don't remember unimportant names that well." Tetsuya smirked while his little girl sported the same smile in the background.

Haruka smiled back. "I must say that I agree with you for once… Michiru-san's cousin's father… Or would you rather let me call you Akira-san's notorious ass kisser?"

Tetsuya's face turned beet red as his eyes swept to a challenging look sported by the blonde's surrogate father. He swallowed his pride, turned away towards the edge of the boat, and jumped off of the diving board. Kenro turned to the Kokuyo's only child and gave her a questioning look.

"Take a dip before I push you in personally." He didn't even try to hide his animosity. Hana gulped and walked away as Akira placed a hand on his partner's shoulder. Kenro glanced at him as he gave a reprimanding smile. "It's not my fault your wife's side of the family's so easy to hate."

Akira's smile widened as Michiru excused herself to go down inside the boat to change into some swim wear.

"My arthritis will probably get worse if I go in there," Kenro laughed passing up on the opportunity.

"You're only forty Kenro-san, calm down." Haruka smiled as they sat back down on their original spots.

"I don't know Haruka-chan. It might set off a chain events leading me to having arthritis."

All was normal until Michiru came out, making Haruka almost die of a heart attack. Her eyes widened more as she purposefully swayed her hips in a seductive manner and walked towards the blonde. When she was only a couple feet away, she gave a hearty laugh that caused Haruka to blush.

"Ara, Haruka, close your mouth before the bugs begin making it their nesting grounds."

Haruka's eyes widened even more as she looked away and closed her mouth.

"Michiru-chan, my God!" Kenro exclaimed boisterously. "Guys would kill to see you!" and shortly continued to Haruka's chagrin, "girls as well might I add…"

Michiru blushed and looked at the blonde who was all of the sudden busy inspecting her fingernails. "Haruka, come swim with me."

The tall girl looked up at her and shook her head. "I'll only go in the water if your life is threatened. And seeing as water is your "element" I probably won't go in the water." She almost smiled at her tact.

Michiru pouted cutely. "Mou…"

Haruka grinned and almost swayed herself to say yes at the pout placed on the violinist's face…almost. "Have fun. Swim around. Don't mind me."

"Fine, but you're missing out." She smiled seductively and again swayed her hips as she walked to the edge of the boat, her dark red two piece bikini hugging her every curves.

"Haruka-chan, I think she means it. Close your mouth…there are a lot of bugs out here," Kenro snickered elbowing her playfully.

Haruka narrowed her eyes at her surrogate father and smiled sheepishly at Akira's amused face.

AN: Okie dokie there's chapter nine. Wow…we're already in chapter nine?? Shoot…anyway, now you know why I wanted this out together with chapter eight…they would go together real well…Again, the chapter seems short, but I can't go any further than that since chapter ten goes well all by its lonesome self. I know a lot of people would first of all think the mission concerning the prison was a little extreme, but through the chapters I've been sort of nudging at the fact that she has a "killer face" and "killer eyes" just for people to get the fact that she's far from an innocent little girl in charge of an innocent little division. The DD as you can probably tell by now is not your normal run of the mill entourage/bodyguard division… it's hella bigger than that. By the way, Haruka did volunteer for that prison mission…it wasn't pushed by either of her superiors and once again, yes that did change her a lot…how do you think she was so able in shooting a paintball gun at her rival/coworker's head without blinking and not feeling a bit sorry for it afterwards? Anyway, I'm just adding this because I have a feeling a lot of people will question it so please ask what you want to ask. On another note, the price for Haruka's pictures seem a little high, and in essence they are, but they're stated here in yen. One dollar would, give or take, equal 110 yen so when someone's asking for 100,000 yen, they want approximately 900-ish dollars…just take out two zeros or something…that's how I make it easier for me to convert. Heh, apparently Haruka's pictures would b about 500,000 dollars…they're a bunch of billionaires' kids…they're able to play with that kind of money…plus I hope most of you got is as a joke…:D My favorite part…convos… and -bow- thank you again for the wonderful reviews. I have once again reached an all time high XD Please don't stop!! Reviews are more addicting than pop…and that coming from me is a big deal if you really knew me. xD

Dragonknight23: I try to emulate Haruka's protectiveness everyday…hahaha. Hana just doesn't know what battles to give up.

Cybeleflame: Never seen the Wicker Man myself, but that is a very good question…I never really thought about it…so…I'll just answer with: there are enough people going into the island every year and not enough coming out…the island would have a massive population problem in a decade or so which will force people to go to the mainland. :D hahaha sorry if that seemed out of whack…produced the answer in my head just now… I just don't want to say that Hana's a byproduct of incest…just cuz Michiru's somehow related to her…XD

Petiyaka: yeah…the Kokuyo's are pretty awful…I love making bad guy characters hahaha

Knightlight: I would love for Michiru and Haruka to double team Hana, but it seems ooc in my story so I'd love it if you used your imagination instead. XD I know I'll use mine for that reason…and yes Hana never really gets what's coming to her, but you gotta know when to let go sometimes.

Bound Dragon: Haruka's blunt because she knows she can be. Being blunt cost her their secret as well so I guess it's an eye for an eye.

Smartieox: heh…you're freagin god huh? Yeah yeah yeah…I'll let you bask in the glory of being right for now…I love jealous Michiru as much as you do, but as you said, it would've turned for the drama/weird if Haruka kept at it so I decided to keep it minimal. Everyone should thank you for your desperate pleading…it's one of the reasons why I update so soon XD. Don't want to see the only person editing my story to beg for a continuation instead of catch what I did wrong this time. This is sort of the weekend…although it'll come out Monday… heh sorry for the inconvenience.

RaginFireDesire: hahaha that's actually what he told Michiru he'll do, print and frame.

Haruka's Knight: I adore Kenro…he's so easy to write for me 'cuz he seems so real…even though I know no one who even resembles him in real life. Hmm…Hana getting thrown overboard… that sounds nice…I think I'll add something like that just for the hell of it XD more major editing coming my way. But don't get your hopes up…I don't like putting people down cuz I couldn't write what I said I would…so I will if I can :D

Thepillows93: Haruka's been trained to be good at word fights…or any other fights for that matter. XD glad you liked another well-grammared (so not a word) chappy and tell the bunny I like him too.

Akilahc: Hana got what she deserved…as I said before I love torturing my OC's…

RachelAe: hahaha Michael Jackson would be a pretty good match w/ what she looks like…only girlier…and I'll give her prettier 'cuz she's Yuriko's niece and a little bit of the good looking genes actually flew to her face. As far as how it's pointy and white…she looks like Michael Jackson all the way. The romance is coming soon, I promise…they have to have a big talk after that whole limo scene anyway…look for it in chapter 10 and 11 :D And oh yeah, delving in Michiru's psyche is next chappy. Hope to see you then.

Sakura blossoms4: hahaha YEAH!! MORE!! XD don't mind me…I'm a dork…

Clydoze: Thank you for the kind words. That coming from a lit teacher…-blush- XD thank you and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the rest of the story.

LitaDelacour: Haruka has to be the easier character to write out of the two of them seeing as I'm a lot like her (I guess just in general although to be more like her would be a definite plus). She's very easy to write about in any situation so here's more and the next chappy… hmm..we'll see.

Reusch: XD I love short, but awesome chapters… thank you. And I hope this was soon enough.

Heatqueen: -bow- thank you for adding me as an author and fave story…it proves that I must be doing something right when people do that. As for becoming an author…I guess you could say it's my dream job…to be a pretty successful author. My gf wants me to publish something before I meet my maker but hmm…dunno if that'll ever happen. Thank you for the kind words and I hope you stick around for more.

One last…sorta bad note…fall quarter's starting tomorrow. -.- which only means one thing…I'll be broke…XD j/k…what I meant was slower updates. So I'll say I'm sorry in advance and I'll try to edit as quickly as possible, but I say it enough in one sided pen name convos so I can't be a hypocrite about it…school comes first. Watch out for the updates probably moreover the weekends as I have more time then, but until then, I'm sorry for the delay. Thank you for sticking with me though and I hope I get to update before the weekend, but if not I'll definitely do it then.


	10. Suspicions

Chapter 10: Suspicions

They've been in the middle of the ocean for some hours now and she could tell everyone was bored. Of course, she wouldn't be. She liked the ocean, but the dark clouds in the distance were getting nearer and she knew that, as well as having a serene side, the ocean also had a merciless one. The sun was already beginning to dim over the horizon as well. Yet she stayed afloat on the cool waters, looking up at the puffy, white nimbus clouds above her. Her curly hair danced along the surface and little ripples surrounded her after every small movement she made. Through it all, she could only think about Haruka.

_Haruka…_

The first time she saw the darkness in the blonde's sparkling green eyes, she had literally felt the goose bumps in her skin prick out in fright. She didn't want to think Haruka had the ability to kill people, but after hearing what transpired in the Escalade…

_She's killed before. _

And it bothered her. Of course it bothered her. She would have to go see a shrink if that little bit of info didn't. But surprisingly enough, it hadn't changed her perspective of her bodyguard—she was still very much infatuated with her. Regardless of what she's done in the past, the violinist could not help, but still like her. All she needed was a little time to digest it.

She dipped her head in the water, relinquishing the feel of it and came back up, decidedly keeping her eyes shut.

It had hurt…how she acted in the car with Haruka. It hurt when she saw the hopeless look in the other girl's eyes and, even more so, the fact that she couldn't say anything to alleviate it. Truth the told she really didn't know what to say, so she opted on staying quiet in hopes that the blonde would say something instead—an explanation, a reason…something. Anything would have worked…just so her mind would stop buzzing so she could tell the tall girl that she was really okay about the whole situation. But the silence dragged on and it came to the point where it felt like even if she were to say something, it was too late to salvage anything. In the end, all she could do was thank her.

She saw the guilt as she was leaving…how Haruka had shut her eyes, clenched her jaw, and nodded, seemingly in an automatic response. That had hurt the most. She had wanted to turn back then and talk to her, again to try and salvage whatever was left of their prior conversation. Yet again it felt a little too late, not to mention everyone would be suspecting them if they hadn't gone out of the car if they were to talk right there and then. So, in the end, she decided to fall back to normalcy. It felt weird at first and she knew it seemed forced, but at the same time she didn't want to see Haruka hurt again. She hoped that by teasing her and laughing with her that the blonde would understand that although they still needed to talk about it, her overall opinion on the matter was that it was okay.

She can get over it. For Haruka, she will get over it. It'll just take time to digest, like all sudden realizations.

What was bothering her more though was why Haruka had decidedly kept it from her. The retelling of her past and title in TWE would've been the perfect time and situation to tell her, but she didn't.

_She couldn't think I'd see her in a different light would she? _She frowned at the thought, but shrugged it back. _Then again, that reason would be completely understandable. But does my opinion really matter that much to her?_

She remembered the dark look Haruka flashed when she defended her from her cousin. How Haruka had gone beyond the call of duty and protected her from something that was not physical.

She opened her blue eyes softly and looked up at the white yacht.

_I need to see her. _

She frowned a little bit at the powerful and sudden feeling of having to be in contact with Haruka, but shook the uneasiness aside. This was the power the blonde had over her…and she won't tire of it—she'd get used to it. Smiling, she swam towards the ladder in the side of the yacht, propelled herself upwards, climbed back up, and took a towel from her seat, looking at her bodyguard as she did so. The Kokuyos, except her aunt, were still swimming and the rest of her family and bodyguards were probably at the bar. Only Haruka had stayed outside, sitting on the same spot she had claimed at the beginning of the boat ride.

The tall girl, probably from being bored out of her mind, had her head rested at the wall behind her and was seemingly sound asleep in an upright, sitting position, her arms crossing her midriff as she did so. Michiru smiled softly as her bodyguard shifted her head to the side, a small frown gracing her handsome features.

Had it only been a week?

_A week ago, I certainly wouldn't have taken myself out of the water just to see some boy…_ She smirked at her thoughts, her hands wanting desperately to reach out and brush those blonde strands back. She opted instead to sit next to her and just admire the view.

Out of anyone, her mother had been the one to question her most about her disinterest in relationships. Of course she knew her father preferred it that way, wanting to fend off incoming men rather than invite them. But it wasn't the fact that she was uninterested. And it wasn't the fact that she was busy, although both have been used as her excuse to the barrage of questions pelted at her by her mother on their weekly outings. It was that the bar had been set too high, from a memory that had no flaws.

She couldn't say she didn't like men—she's had enough suitors and admirers to know that she was actually interested in them. But ever since the beginning, looking had been enough; she had never wanted to cross that line of actually being with them. It wasn't that it was repulsive to her or that her admirers had been egoistical jerks—most that expressed their want of going out with her had actually been very well mannered and charming, unlike her brash classmate, Ryu. What's stopping her is the memory of a boisterous, young tomboy with messy, short blonde hair and deep, black eyes.

Maybe even then she'd known that love had no boundaries, gender included. She had learned it from her first friend.

_Don't be lonely Mi-chan, I'm here with you. It's not like I'm going anywhere._

She had learned in a previous psychology class she'd taken in Mugen that the mind had very good selective memory. Whether it was good or bad, the brain would erase and fill gaps to lessen or even remove pain and amplify or start joy. She figured in her case, it was a little bit of both; she wouldn't be surprised if her mind added or deleted scenes in her head to amplify the importance of the event for remembrance's sake. She had lost someone young and dear to her; the thought of it even now still makes her heart throb. Although only one memory stands to mind out of all the things they had done together, what she remembers and treasures most was the unconditional love she felt while it lasted. Love, that was most importantly not given by her parents, but by another source. They may have been children, they may have been playing, but she hadn't felt that protected feeling until Haruka came.

Only a few years ago had she realized how much the deceased girl had meant to her, when she fully realized how she felt. From even before her death, Michiru knew she was her first friend, rendering her irreplaceable. But after visiting her and her mother with her family for their yearly anniversary, the flawless memory came back to her in full force. If she was alive, if she was there with her, Michiru knew she would not have needed to look at anyone else, friendship or otherwise. Because even if they were young, even if they were naïve, even if they were both girls, none of the particulars mattered as long as they shared that mutual feeling. Because love, of all things, knows no gender, or color and nor is it biased. It was a feeling. She had learned it from her friend, forgotten how wonderful the feeling was, and up until Haruka came, did not want or believe anyone else could show her.

Maybe she had needed to be in close quarters with someone to feel this way again, because God knows she's been pushing love away more than embracing it. Maybe it was her first friend looking out for her, showing her that it was okay to let someone else in. But above all else she was glad that out of anyone she could be this way to that it was towards Haruka. Because she knew she was genuinely kind, protective, brash, confident, reserved, straightforward, loving...she was Haruka. And nothing, not even the faultless memory from her childhood, has made her feel more than what she's already begun feeling for her bodyguard.

She debated a question with herself for a second and smiled softly, shaking the question aside. She couldn't deny it any longer than she's already denied herself of feeling this way.

_Unh…I love her. _

And with this realization came the now almost automatic questions: what Haruka's orientation could be and if she could, at the very least, be interested in her as well.

First of, it didn't seem like Haruka liked any men… She doesn't get along with any of the bodyguards, especially Saiki, and the only men she sees her showing a kind face to are her father and godfather.

The answer to her question seemed so painfully obvious because of how the tall girl acted and how she dressed—bluntly speaking, her gaydar would not shut up… but it was different with her actually being in the situation. It was easy if she was looking at it in an outsider's perspective; saying, "she is" or "he's not" hardly matter because whether they were or not wasn't important to her. Being in the same side of the fence tended to be harder.

If Haruka was…

_What if Haruka likes women? It doesn't necessarily mean she'll like me… _Michiru sighed audibly. It was still too soon to really gauge anything, but at the same time she also knew that it wasn't going to last. Haruka would not stay her bodyguard forever. She could ask for it, but everyone, her parents and Haruka included, would question her as to why she, Miss Independent, still would want a bodyguard with her after the threat's passed. And she could not answer that question without lying, at which point in time, all parties included would know if she was or wasn't. _It's so much easier to just be normal…Maybe I should just…force myself to like a man. It definitely wouldn't be as complicated…_

But she knew, even before the thought came, as she stared at the blonde's endearing, cute, sleeping face, it was too late to go back to being the way she was. And even now that she can still turn back, she wouldn't. She wouldn't lie to herself about feeling this way for another girl, because she's been waiting too long to feel this way and there's completely nothing wrong with it.

_And if she doesn't reciprocate the feeling?_

Her heart ached at the prospect, at the mere thought of the tall girl avoiding her because what she felt was abnormal. She sighed.

_Haruka…you really know how to drive a girl crazy…_

"Enjoying yourself Michiru-chan?" her uncle, Tetsuya, suddenly said from behind her.

She looked at him and shook herself out of her musings. Nodding, she turned her head towards the impending dark clouds and replied, "Yes, but there are dark clouds in the distance. I think it would be the best option if we go back to the island while the weather's still clear."

He looked at the sky and smirked. "Those are nothing, don't mind yourself with those. I've been sailing these waters all my life and from experience, I should know that those are just little rain clouds. They'll probably hurt flies… but not us."

As the violinist's family came out from the inside of the boat, she looked again at the dark clouds and gave an uneasy nod.

O---Half an hour later---O

"Kaioh-sama! Morimoto-sama! Everyone who's still outside, please get inside!" Saiki yelled as fierce waves and torrential downpour swept the side of the boat brutally.

"Sailing these waters all my life my freakin' ass," Kenro grunted as he helped Yuriko inside.

As soon as everyone was safely indoors, the boat rocked violently sending all the passengers tumbling to the other side of the room.

"Who's in the bridge?" Haruka asked wiping her wet bangs off her forehead.

"I think Muro and Toriyama are helping Kokuyo in there," Akira answered.

"Look after Michiru-san then. I'm getting us to that island."

Michiru's eyes trailed after her until she disappeared from sight.

As soon as the blonde left, Kenro smirked at his coworker. "And you said teaching her how to drive a boat in crazy weather was pointless."

Akira shrugged. "I make mistakes, what can I say? I'm just glad that training menu was crazy enough to include all kinds of situations…"

When Haruka got to the bridge, Muro had Tetsuya locked by the arm and Toriyama was in front of the wheel.

"Get you hands off my boat!" Tetsuya yelled.

Haruka rolled her eyes as Toriyama gave her an annoyed expression. "I'll take control from here. Get him in the bar with the others."

Toriyama nodded and relayed to Muro what Haruka wanted done. Tetsuya was led out momentarily kicking and screaming.

As Haruka got control of the boat, she turned it to the direction of the island and went virtually full speed ahead.

"Isn't this a little too fast steering for this weather?"

Haruka smirked as she heard the waver of worry in the second commander's words. In response, she drove the boat several knots faster.

"How convenient," she softly stated. "That because of this weather, the President and Vice President probably won't be able to go home tonight."

Toriyama only looked straight ahead of him, a frowned sketched on his hard features.

"If you were their enemies, when would be the perfect opportunity to sabotage and hack into the system?" Haruka asked and turned to him with the same annoying smile that he's known for years.

"You think whoever's been hacking into TWE will do it again tonight?"

The blonde shook her head. "Nope, not tonight. They've probably been doing it all day…and most likely are going to continue until tonight. I'm pretty sure the mole has enough inside information to know both CEO's as well as myself are gone, so today would've been the perfect time to launder some more money. But…I shouldn't be worried right Toriyama? Because our intelligence department should've caught or at least, stopped them by now…ne?"

"I'd like to think so since—

"That's the department you literally forced yourself to be in charge of," Haruka finished and looked straight ahead as the waves continued to pummel the boat, the island now a mere ten minutes away.

"Are you insinuating something Tenoh-san?" Toriyama grunted dangerously.

"In the years that I've worked as commander in the DD, I've always seen our Intelligence Division as the best human-computer jointed operation system in comparison to all the other technological based companies competing against us. That's why I'm proud to be the head of the DD. It's the best Defense Division in the world. One of the main reasons why Sony joined up with us is because of it.

"But now, whoever's draining the company's money seems to be doing it with ease and I haven't seen any recent change in employee or tactic to catch these people. So that leaves me with a burning question second commander… what are you doing or going to do to alter our current situation?"

Her brunette rival stiffened and looked at the darkness in front of them. Lightning flashed in the distance causing thunder to accompany it seconds later.

"I assure you Tenoh-san, that I'm doing all that I can to make sure the people stealing TWE's money will get caught and be killed by my own hands. It looks bad on my track record whenever these people do this—

"Then change it," Haruka interrupted coldly. "Change something…anything…so this won't happen again. It's bad enough that the DD was caught by surprise a week ago with the sniping, but even more so now that the money we've worked hard for is slipping under our noses so easily. Change whatever it is that needs changing Toriyama. Prove my insinuations wrong by proving me wrong. Until then, whatever you'll be doing is under a microscope."

"And where were you in the sniping?" Toriyama interrogated suddenly.

The blonde smirked and looked at her rival dangerously. "Watch what you say Toriyama. You know damn well I'm not the little girl I used to be." Toriyama's eyes darkened as his Adam's apple moved up then down from gulping, yet his focus remained outside, clearly unable to hold eye contact with the girl beside him. "Tell everyone we're nearing the docks. Get them ready to move out."

The brunette turned and trudged to the door, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Toriyama," Haruka called.

He stopped with his hand on the doorknob, but did not answer or turn back around.

"We were never on good terms. If my insinuations are proven true, I have no remorse killing you."

Toriyama's grip tightened on the doorknob as his frown increased. Ten seconds passed in complete nerve wracking silence until he finally left the bridge.

Haruka frowned at the electric charge leftover in the room as the built man left. She guided the boat into the pier and finally turned the motor off. She walked out to the deck as she saw the figures of the bodyguards, Kaiohs, Kokuyos, and her surrogate father come out into the downpour.

"There's going to be a lot going on in TWE tonight," she stated as she felt Kenro stand beside her.

"What do you propose we do about it?" Kenro asked slinging his arm over his serious daughter.

"We'll ride it. Let them get as much money as they want. We'll take advantage of their ignorance a little while longer."

Kenro grinned maliciously. "You truly are my daughter."

Haruka gave the same grin and they finally walked out with the others. They all boarded the Escalade and inside, a now fully clothed Michiru rested her head on Haruka's shoulder.

"If only he would've listened to me," she sighed and slipped her fingers through her soaked hair. "Oops, sorry Haruka. I got your shoulder wet…"

Haruka shrugged as her father eyed Toriyama.

"What's with the sour look Second Commander?" he asked.

Toriyama looked at him and shook his head. "Just a lot in my mind Morimoto-sama."

"Kenro, contact the Board of Directors and tell them we're not going home tonight. It's too risky," Akira instructed. "We'll be heading out early tomorrow morning to inspect the damages they did with us gone."

Kenro gave out a barking laugh. "I expect TWE to be burning when we get back! And that's probably the best of the worst case scenarios."

Akira laughed along with the vice president as the Escalade followed the Kokuyo car into a drive thru of a restaurant. They stayed a while to wait for them to grab dinner, Kenro muttering about cheapness and drove back to their residence after thirty minutes.

"Kokuyo says that there are three extra bedrooms in his house. Two in the first story and another in the second. Michi-chan take the second story bedroom, Kenro you can have the remaining extra. All of the bodyguards can sleep outside in the living room," the elder male Kaioh stated.

Michiru looked at Haruka who only nodded obediently. She on the other hand, did not like the sleeping arrangements. "Otou-san, Haruka and I are both women…I don't mind sleeping in the same bed as her."

Haruka's cheeks blushed profusely. "Michiru-san, I don't think that's—

"We're both girls!" Michiru exclaimed. "Or are you really a man? Because if that is the case then I guess I don't want to share a room with you…"

Haruka sighed in exasperation. "I am a girl…"

"Then there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The blonde looked at her superiors and glanced at them imploringly. She slumped her shoulders in defeat, not really being able to say that there was a huge problem with it, sighed and muttered, "As long as it's okay with Akira-san."

The president just shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"Akira…" Yuriko suddenly called with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Haruka-chan won't all of the sudden molest Michi-chan Yuriko," Akira replied with mirth. "I mean, she's had ample opportunity to do so and Michi-chan has yet to complain so I don't see a problem with both of them staying in the same room. BUT just to get it straight, I'll ask both of them. Haruka-chan, will you molest my daughter in her sleep?"

Haruka raised an eyebrow at the too straightforward question, but shook her head nevertheless. "No, Akira-san. I wouldn't molest your daughter in her sleep."

"And Michi-chan," Akira continued. "Has Haruka-chan ever molested you in your sleep?"

"Otou-san…" Michiru looked at her father in an amused way and inwardly wished she could answer that question with a yes.

"So there you go!" Akira exclaimed. "Plus she's her bodyguard. They need to be in close quarters in case of emergencies."

Yuriko looked at him in displeasure. "Fine, I was just worried that's all."

She looked at Haruka who was elbowed momentarily by her surrogate father and frowned deeper.

"Watch yourself tonight. I might just come in the room and take a picture of both you," Kenro whispered in the blonde's ear.

Haruka scowled and whispered back, "It won't matter. I probably won't get any sleep anyway."

Kenro laughed loudly causing everyone to give him an asking glance.

Back at the Kokuyo residence, dinner was mostly spent in silence and after a half an hour, everyone began turning in. Haruka and Michiru took the extra bedroom in the second floor while the Kaiohs and Kenro took the bottom floor. Tetsuya came to give them both night clothes, giving Haruka large boxers and Michiru an old pajama they both guessed used to belong to Hana. When he left, they both looked at the small twin sized bed.

"For someone who looks rich enough on the outside, they could've at least bought bigger beds," Haruka muttered, eyeing the faded boxers in her arms after staring agape at the bed.

Michiru gave a laugh. "So which side of the bed would you like?"

Haruka shook her head. "I'm sleeping on the floor…"

"But Haruka…" Michiru pouted.

"It's too small Michiru-san," Haruka contended. "I'm a wild sleeper! By the time we wake up tomorrow, _you'll_ be the one on the floor."

"It wasn't like that last night…" the aquamarine haired girl said softly. Her eyes widened as she caught herself and looked up to a blush ridden blonde's face.

A week. A whole week. Only a week?

Michiru's always wondered what her girl classmates meant when they used to say in loud voices, "You'll know when to tell him. You'll just know!"

How can a person just know?

But in this space, this time, in this room where only the two of them are present, she somehow just knew. It may have been too soon. They may be the same gender, but something told her that if it wasn't now, there may never be another opportunity as fruitful. She couldn't just wait for the blonde to say something. God knows if she even likes her in the first place! And even if she did, she wouldn't say. It's out of her jurisdiction…

_That leaves only me…_ She took a deep breath.

"Haruka."

The flustered blonde stopped looking at the floor and looked at the violinist, noticing the solemn look engraved in her sparkling blue eyes. She gave a questioning look as the other girl's mouth began to open slowly as if she was mentally forming sentences while trying to get out most of what's formulated already. Before one word could come out, the door slammed open and in barged the Vice President of TWE. He didn't notice the look of utter surprise from his surrogate daughter nor the disappointed look sported by his goddaughter.

"Sorry to disturb you kids, but Haruka-chan, we need to talk. Balcony…now."

Haruka discerned the distress in Kenro's voice, gave a quick look of apology to a confused Michiru, and opened the sliding door to the balcony. Kenro stepped out a second later, closing the door behind him quickly and forcibly.

"Three billion," he started.

The blonde quickly caught on that this was the amount stolen. She couldn't understand why this would be such a bombshell to her superior though. "Three billion yen? That's nothing—

"In dollars. The currency we placed in TWE for a worldwide market is in dollars," Kenro explained hastily while pacing back and forth in the minimal amount of space. "I called up Sumeragi and made him look at the balance for the company and three billion dollars is missing. What's more is the Intelligence Division hadn't detected any hacking, breaking, or snooping into the account. It's as if someone just…" his voice trailed off as his eyes darted to Haruka's.

"Knew the password and had the keycard to get in…" Haruka finished with a hint of annoyance laced in her voice.

Kenro nodded. "The thing is, Akira's the only one that has a keycard…aside from me, and we both damn know well he hasn't stolen anything."

"Well then, that leaves only five other people who are close enough to both you and Akira-san to know how to enter into the accounts… the Board of Directors."

Kenro shook his fist in annoyance and looked into the darkness. With the dark accentuating his bulky features and the rain pouring into random parts of the right side of his body, he looked absolutely terrifying—akin to a beast stuck in a cage.

"You think it's one, two, all?"

"I don't know," he gritted between his teeth. "It might be Tsuma. He's been more of a pain recently and he's most likely to get fired and he knows it. Sumeragi has always been on pretty good terms with me, although there's always been that thing about him... and Akira, Daiji, Gouta, and Aozou are just the middle men."

"So the real question is who wants to see TWE fall most?"

"Yeah… I knew it wasn't a fluke when Red Sun Technologies came out with the same computer software as us two months ago… Akira just didn't want to believe it. Congratulations…you were right. Someone's leading a double life."

Haruka nodded grimly. "They're not really doing a good job at hiding that fact. What with all the money stealing and getting TWE's ideas and making it their own. I'll speak to Akira-san tonight so I can do some in-depth background checking on the Board as well as some other people I'm suspicious of tomorrow. We need to get whoever's behind this before Sony finds out what's been happening. Any later and they might cut the deal completely…we'll be the laughing stock of the world."

Kenro nodded in agreement. "And of Michiru-chan?"

"Assign Saiki and Muro. I don't like them that much but she's most comfortable with them. I'll tell her minimal information on the matter if she asks."

With one last sigh, Kenro opened up the sliding door and let Haruka go back in before him, both reasonably cold and somewhat wet from the harsh rain.

"Michiru-san, I need to talk to your father for a moment," Haruka stated as she saw the worried look on the younger girl's face.

She nodded and bade goodnight to an equally serious vice president who only smiled momentarily at her and left, trailing the blonde.

They headed down the stairs towards Akira's room and went in it after knocking. The President of TWE stood near the window looking out in pitch darkness, a solemn look on his normally kind face. Yuriko it seemed, was out of the room.

"What do you propose we do First Commander?" he asked as he turned to look at the tomboy.

"For now I'll be doing my own investigation sir. I have a hunch on how to start my snooping, but I'd like for you to give me the whole day tomorrow to do it," Haruka answered in a very brisk and businesslike manner.

Akira nodded and smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. And what of your hunch about the affiliation of Red Sun Technologies?"

"That should be solved tomorrow as well sir."

"Excellent. I'm looking forward to tomorrow then. And what about Michi-chan?"

"I'm going to appoint Saiki and Muro to take care of her during my absence."

"Saiki? Interesting." An amused smile graced along the elder Kaioh's face as he eyed the stoic tomboy before him.

"She's most comfortable with him, sir. I believe he'd make a suitable enough substitute since they're pretty acquainted and his loyalty seems most favorable to you."

"Ahh, I see. Alright, you're free to go. I expect tomorrow to be a challenging, yet eye opening day for you as well as TWE. I recommend getting as much sleep as possible."

Haruka nodded in gratitude for the concern as well as in understanding as the door opened to reveal Yuriko in a nightgown. She looked at all three of them as Akira gave her a smile.

"Kenro and Haruka-chan were just leaving," he stated.

Getting the hint, Haruka bade both Kaiohs' goodnight and left with Kenro. As they neared the staircases, the burly man placed his hand over Haruka's shoulders, causing the blonde to stop.

"I've got a funny feeling about tomorrow," her surrogate father whispered, his voice full of worry. "I need you to be at your sharpest."

Haruka nodded and continued to move up when she felt Kenro's hand grip her shoulder harder.

"I mean it Haruka-chan. Please… be vigilant tomorrow. Be alert. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Haruka saw the distress in his face, his eyes holding a twinkle of worry only a father can show.

"I'll be sure to be extra careful. I promise, Otou-san." Kenro's eyes widened in surprise as she gave him a soft smile. "Goodnight."

She gave a pat to his hand and moved up towards her and Michiru's bedroom.

When the blonde got back inside the room, Michiru was sitting on the bed with the blanket over her waist, waiting patiently for Haruka.

"It's late. You should be asleep," Haruka said with a smile. She causally took off her polo leaving her black undershirt on.

Michiru smiled as the pianist walked to the edge of the bed. "You seem tense," she observed. "Has something happened?"

Haruka let out a long sigh and laid down on the bottom part of the bed, half of her body hanging towards the floor. "Yes, something has. I need to go somewhere tomorrow."

The violinist looked at her in complete surprise. "What? Where?"

There was silence for a few seconds, the blonde furrowing her brows while looking at the ceiling and Michiru waiting for an answer. "I just have to check on something…" was the short and sort of lame reply.

Michiru looked at the concern filled eyes of her bodyguard and quickly figured out the problem—it being stated to her once by a very infatuated bodyguard. "Is it about the money that's being stolen?"

Haruka jumped from the bed and looked at the other girl utter shock. "How the hell…?" Then almost instantly, a dawning realization popped in her head. Once again, the same guy had managed to annoy the living crap out of her. "Saiki…" she stated with a hint of annoyance and venom in her voice.

"Haruka…" Michiru called with exasperation. "I pried it off of him okay? It wasn't as if he told me just to amuse me."

"Chapter Three, paragraph four, rule seven from the DD handbook: relaying Level Three information outside the company will lead to harsh punishment as directed and seen through by the Commander. The choice of death is cruel, but implemental." Haruka thoroughly and mechanically voiced this as if she was retelling the stats of last night's ball game. "I mean there'll be a lot to cover up, but it won't be the first time. Just say he was on an undercover mission, got caught, was shot in the process—

"Haruka! I—it's just me! Me knowing that doesn't change anything! It's not like I'm going to tell everyone I know about it so…so… don't make it in your agenda to kill Kensuke-kun!"

Haruka stopped talking almost immediately, gave an amused chuckle, and waved her hand disinterestedly. "He's not important enough for me to kill…" A pillow hit her face shortly thereafter.

"You know that's not funny…" Michiru said softly. Haruka went back to laying down on the bed, this time using the pillow thrown earlier for a head rest. "Don't talk about killing so… bluntly. You don't seem like the Haruka I know when you do that…"

The blonde turned her head and looked at the sad face the other girl sported. She gave an apologetic smile and replied, "I'm sorry. I won't joke like that again."

Michiru smiled at her genuine apology, got out of the blanket surrounding her, and crawled to the bottom of the bed where her bodyguard laid. She continued on to lie at her side and propped her head on the blonde's stomach, using it as a pillow. They locked eyes momentarily and continued to stare at one another until Haruka coughed out and at which time, the other girl looked away.

Recalling her musings that same afternoon, a sad look came upon Michiru's face as she once again looked back at the blonde, finally wanting the answer for the question that's been haunting her since their car drive to the docks.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Haruka immediately knew what she was talking about and sighed audibly. "Did you think that it was unimportant?"

"Of course not Michiru-san," the blonde answered quickly, brushing her hair back from habit. "I just wanted to spare you the details. It's a part of my past that I'm not very proud of and from the way I was retelling it to you, I already made it sounds as if Akira-san and Kenro-san were bad people trying to milk all they could from me for sheer entertainment. If I told you about that…" Haruka's voice trailed off as tribulation rang into her mind. Gathering her wits, she softly continued, "I know you look up to what your father and Godfather do. I don't want that perspective of them muddled because of something I had to trample over to stand in the spot I am in now."

"Is that all?"

Haruka was taken aback by the girl's sudden straightforward manner.

"Haruka," Michiru continued. "My respect for my father and Godfather will never be shaken. They could…kill…anyone and everyone in this world and I'll still love them and respect them fully because I know there's a reason behind their actions—

"Then what about me?" This time it was Michiru who was caught unaware.

Haruka felt her throat tighten up as she locked eyes with the girl lying comfortably on her stomach. This was always hard for her…showing her feelings and even more so, telling it. But she had to talk about it with the younger girl. Her mind would never fully rest until she gets it out in the open.

"What about if I did that…kill…everyone and anyone. Would your perspective of me change?"

It wasn't until that moment that Michiru noticed how important she's become in Haruka's life. The blonde's eyes looked ready of the fear and rejection she was waiting to come out of the shorter girl's mouth and the prospect of so much control over someone's feelings almost scared her.

_She's bracing herself for rejection…_ A saddened feeling overtook her as she reached a hand to brush Haruka's hair back. She felt the other girl gulp down and gave a reassuring smile as her fingers intertwined with the blonde's silky locks.

"No," Michiru's soft voice said penetrating the silence. She stopped stroking her hair and traced her fingers along Haruka's cheek, finding her arm comfortable in that position as she rested it there. "Didn't I already tell you that I considered you family?"

Haruka gave a weak nod.

"I've grown fond of you Haruka…You were patient with me from the start even though, as I've grown to see, you're actually quite impatient. You looked passed my records and achievements and not only strove to become my bodyguard, but also my friend.

"You've defended me emotionally and physically so that I wouldn't get hurt…and I've only known you for such a small amount of time…yet…yet… I feel closer to you than anyone I've ever let in. There's nothing you could do right now for me to change my opinion of you…because like my father and Godfather, I know you'd have a reason for your actions."

Haruka gave her a genuine smile. A ton of weights felt s if they've just been lifted off her chest and Michiru could see that. She could see the relief flood over the girl's eyes—saw that momentary wall she put up go down instantly.

_She's never felt the bond of having a friend before._ She unconsciously stroked her cheeks again causing the tall girl to look at her cutely, like a child starved for attention, but not wanting to show its weakness when it finally gets it. Feeling the momentary rift disappear between them, Michiru again asked the other question that's been gnawing her.

"So where are you headed tomorrow?" She asked it with a hint of sadness, hoping that, that enough would change her bodyguard's decision.

Avoiding the question, Haruka only replied, "It's only for a day Michiru-san."

"Still, I'm going to miss you…" Michiru pouted. Haruka grinned at her as she shifted her head to the side to get a better look of the blonde. "Why do you have to leave now that I've become so attached to you?"

"It's only for a day!" Haruka repeated in exasperation. "Plus you'll be hanging out with Saiki throughout the whole time! I'm sure you won't even realize I was gone…"

"I don't want to "hang out" with Kensuke-kun. He's dull and boring—

"Whereas I'm fun and exciting?"

"Yes, you are."

"Michiru-san, stop it."

"I mean it Haruka! You're not like him. You're not dull, you're not boring, you're not stiff, you're not…him."

The blonde smirked. "Sounds like your type actually."

Michiru sat back, grabbed another pillow, and smacked it playfully against the smirking girl's face. "That's not funny."

Haruka laughed as the shorter girl settled down and rested her head back on the blonde's stomach. "So tell me then, oh violent one…what is your type?"

Michiru just shrugged.

"I mean, from the first time I saw you interact with Saiki, calling him by his first name and everything, I thought you personally liked him."

"I don't," she said simply and shook her head in a follow up. "I'll always see him as that guy who works for my father…Not like you, mind you… I've known him since he started working and we've had conversations, but it doesn't go further than that… I don't really want it to, to begin with. I'm just… not attracted. He may have feelings for me, but I can't give it back."

"Ahh," Haruka nodded in joking realization. "You're such a player Michiru-san! You already have someone else in mind don't you?"

She immediately wanted to take it back. Michiru's eyes pierced through hers solemnly and in all seriousness replied unwaveringly, "Yes, I do."

The smile slowly slid off the blonde's face as her eyes trailed back to looking at the ceiling. For a split second, she wished the other girl would jump up and say just kidding, but the look that she saw upon locking eyes with the other girl spoke the truth. She liked someone. Of course she would. She was a healthy seventeen year old girl… beautiful in all perspectives… rich…very smart…influential… The list went on. Being attracted to another girl, even more so her bodyguard, was just not her.

Haruka felt her throat tighten as her brows furrowed. She tried to breathe, but it felt as if the air around them had thinned out completely. _What if she starts going out with this guy and still expects me to be her bodyguard? Can I pull that off? _Her heart tightened. _Do I want to pull that off?_

She could just imagine it…her ward with some goofball, rich kid, holding hands, standing close, kis—_NO!_ She sighed inwardly. She was hoping for something to change between them in this short time that she was allotted to spend with the girl that's always been the subject of her fantasies. For the other to see that she was not just another expendable bodyguard of many.

_And I did overcome that… I've become her friend. Hell I should be happy! But…I'm not. _Her heart throbbed out painfully as her face gave a grimace. _How can I be happy? I can't be more than that. Sooner or later she'll want to stop hanging around with me. Protecting her will be her… boyfriend's job. In the end, I'll be useless anyway…_

She felt a sudden tug at her shirt which snapped her completely out of her reverie. She turned her head sideways and saw worried ocean blue eyes gazing down at her.

"Are you ok?" the younger girl asked clearly concerned. "I was calling you for a while, but you didn't answer."

Haruka gave an apologetic smile. She was so out of it that she didn't even realize the smaller girl had gotten her head off her stomach and was sitting closely beside her. "I'm sorry Michiru-san I'm just a little tired. I have a long day tomorrow so I'm going to sleep."

Michiru frowned, but nevertheless nodded. "I checked the closet and there were blankets there. You can have one of my pillows as well."

Haruka nodded and tiredly got off of the bed. She walked to the said closet, took out the blankets that were neatly folded and placed them on the floor.

_What is she doing? _"Haruka, I meant what I said earlier," Michiru replied as she watched the other girl laying the blankets she found on the ground. She was not going to let an opportunity like this go to waste, tired Haruka or not.

"Michiru-san…" Haruka whispered in exasperation.

"What're you hiding from me?" the shorter girl asked with a smirk planted on her elegant features.

"I'm not hiding anything!"

Michiru chose this time to wrap her arms around Haruka's waist and pull her on the bed. The taller girl's eyes widened as she fell on the bed, landing straight on Michiru's body, her leg in between Michiru's and her hands propping her up on a half kneeling, half laying position.

"Then you have no reason for not sharing the bed with me," Michiru stated smartly.

Haruka's eyes widened some more as her heart beat against her chest. This wasn't good. _Why does she have to make it so damn hard?_ Out of reflex, her eyes darted from the other girl's eyes to her supple lips.

_Why do they have to look so inviting?_ She unconsciously licked her lips and notice Michiru's mouth curl into a smirk. _Crap…_ She gulped in nervousness.

"Haruka, are you comfortable?" Michiru suddenly asked, forcing Haruka's green eyes to lock back with hers.

She could only look at the violinist questioningly.

"Are you comfortable?" the shorter girl asked again.

_Is this a trick question?_ The blonde looked at the girl before her even more quizzically.

"It's a yes or no question, Ruka-chan."

Haruka frowned at the sudden pet name. "I…guess I'm comfortable…"

"Good. Now you know how we can both sleep on this bed easily—

"I'm literally on top of you," Haruka cut off. "I might have gone through many tasks to be commander Michiru-san, but I don't think anyone in the world can sleep comfortably propped up on their arms…"

Michiru giggled and wrapped her arms tighter around the blonde's waist. "God…what's stopping me from just…" she trailed off as she stared deep into Haruka's dark green orbs.

She noted the way the blonde gulped and smiled warmly.

"So cute…"

Haruka blushed as the words came out of Michiru's mouth and looked away. No matter how much her body had been wanting this kind of affection, her mind just wouldn't stop buzzing in her head. Moments like this tells her how different this girl underneath her is in comparison to others. When it came to them, she was always the one with the last word, always confident, always cool, calm, collected. They would melt like puddle in her arms. Only this woman before her that stated such a small declaration could elicit a purely adolescent response.

"We should…sleep soon…" Her voice finally came back.

Michiru pouted cutely making her regret saying anything. Her regret grew even larger as the smaller girl's arms unlocked from around her waist and fell softly on the bed. Feeling lost as to what to do, Haruka merely stayed in her current position.

"It's a little hard to get out if you don't move Haruka."

Hearing this, she immediately got off and rolled to the foot of the bed, her mind in shambles. She knows she just did something wrong…the disappointed voice in the smaller girl said it all.

_But…what does she want me to do?_ She looked at the violinist who was quietly getting into the comforter. _…I don't want to step out of line…_

It was so unlike her…to double think her actions. But that's the kind of power Michiru had over her. What if she does something that'll cause the other girl to think of her differently? Slap her. Reject her. Hate her… Haruka swallowed the pain emitted by her musings as the violinist finally settled in the blanket.

A frown came over Michiru's features as she looked up to see a battle raging inside her bodyguard's eyes.

"Haruka?" The blonde followed the voice and gave a questioning look. "You ok?"

_To hell with it. _"Yeah…" And without second guessing herself, she slid beside Michiru in bed and in a bold move swept her hands around the younger girl's waist and pulled her body closer, hugging her from behind. She felt Michiru stiffen at her sudden move and braced for rejection.

It never came.

To her surprise, Michiru leaned into her and sighed in contentment. Haruka breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed her stiffened body. She moved her head forward towards the cascading curly hair and breathed in the floral scent that accompanied it. She opened her eyes to the feeling of soft hands rubbing her cheeks affectionately and smiled at the sight of Michiru's soft fingers grazing her face.

"Goodnight Haruka," she whispered and retracted her hand.

Haruka hugged her closer and rested her chin on the shorter girl's shoulders"Goodnight."

AN: Alright…chapter ten's all done. Woot woot. Anyway, I don't think there's much to explain about this chapter…I'm just hoping all of you will like it…it probably has the most H&M interaction so far in the story and they're not together yet, but it's shaping up to be that way huh? They're such kids…hahaha…I dunno that's how I view their emotions to one another as…but all of us have been there…gauging another person's feelings towards us…it's like does he/she like me or is the attention I get purely out of friendship. sigh…I miss high school drama… -.-;; yeah right… Okay, convos:

Heatqueen: Nah, the past arises and they hate each other fics are out of style XD j/k but really, I've been making them to be very mature characters so for the story to go that way would be pretty weird. Glad you like it and yes, a little originality never hurt.

Smartieox: ZOMG U CAME BACK WITH A VENGEANCE. Two mistakes in one sentence huh?...I'll make sure to fix that… -.- In my defense I'd just like to say that I edit my stories around 2-4 o'clock in the morning… hahahah… so my eyes are getting droopy as I write this, but I don't like to keep you guys waiting so there u go :D Plus WoW keeps me up til around two and then I remember this so hahaha. Yeah FF has done that to me too…it's best to talk in AN I can say gooooooood and it won't edit me… XD and yes…I figured u meant that but I was amused too hahaha. Video games…are my life XD well not to that extreme but you're right (yet again, but don't let it get to you're head) I do play a lot and my imagination probably stems from that. I hope you like the little explanation about, as you call her, limo-Michiru to boat-Michiru. I knew the transition there was rough when I was editing it last chapter and I seriously debated in putting that picture scene up, choosing to keep it hella dramatic, but I like that scene so I didn't. Sorry if it seemed out of whack. I hope I did change your mind XD

Knightlight: I like the picture part too…I can't make the comedian side of me go away when I write these.

Petiyaka: yes, family members are sometimes the worst aren't day? The day ended pretty well for her though.

Sakura blossoms4: hahaha sorry I don't update quick enough anymore, but I hope you loved this just the same.

Reusch: Well here's a longer chappy for you XD. Be greedy with it all you want…and at the same time, nothing starts a good weekend like reading right? Hahaha…riiight… well it'll certainly fill in if you don't have anything planned.

LitaDelacour: Hehe, Haruka's father rules…standing up for Haruka is what he does best.

RaginFireDesire: Yep, dark red bikini… -sigh- I wish my imagination was picturey enough to see that…

Amora: hehe well you don't have to be a member to like it. Glad you could leave a review though, appreciate it.

Thepillows93: I WOULD PAY TOO :D marching band eh? Good luck with that too…a bunch of football players in full gear would not be able to stop united band nerds XD

Ken: It's impossible for anything to go Haruka's way. I sometimes feel sorry for her in my story. And Michiru tormenting her…she won't stop either XD…mercilessly:D

MilenaOne: I can't say I know Modesty Blaise…what kind of genre is it…I'd probably watch it just because it was referred XD. And I'm glad you found the time to read. Five chappies is a lot considering what I can dish out per chapter…although the last couple chapters have been shorties. Thank you for the wonderful compliments regardless.

RachelAe: Yeah, what was stopping Haruka from joining? I would jump in there too. As for her past, I wanted to state how far Michiru'll be willing to see past everything and just see her so I guess that's why I added that. And lastly CEO's…I dunno any myself…hahaha but as for Kenro and Akira, I guess you could say they don't come from an "old money background" meaning it wasn't handed to them from an old generation—they worked on it themselves…so for Kenro to be like that…that's just how his personality really is. Talking to his two best friends (Akira and Yuriko) charge that up even more because he knows he doesn't need to formal with them—he can tell them how he feels regardless of what they might think of him after. I hope you liked diving into Michiru's psyche lastly...it was…hard to tell you the truth XD. I had to go back and edit a lot in order to really tell what's going on in her head.

Cybeleflame: XD I liked my explanation about the incest too and Haruka being all :O is very understandable. I would have my jaw on the floor if it was me.

Haruka's Knight: I like Protective!Brash!Kenro myself XD. And as I said, they are kids, 17ish…can't really fault them for being sorta naïve to each other (plus I wouldn't have a story to tell if they both were up in each other five chappies ago XD) As for Haruka's training…yeah I worried about the extremes of it…didn't want it to sound too unrealistic, but yeah…hopefully it wasn't too bad (although it sorta is).

Mantaray: Making it a weekly update shouldn't be too hard…I just have to make it a priority.


	11. Stormy Weather and Emotions

Chapter 11: Stormy Weather and Emotions

It was a too cold night. The rain was pounding the windows outside and the occasional thunder shook the house terribly. Judging by the nanosecond that passed after the thunder accompanied the lightning, it was close and stirring up quite the storm, literally.

Through it all, Haruka couldn't sleep.

It's been a couple of hours since Michiru had slept in her arms and through the passing hours, minutes, and seconds, Haruka had been awake and beating herself up badly because of how much she was enjoying the feel of the younger girl in her embrace. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She wasn't supposed to feel so content! There were many things so wrong with this picture…

She's been going through the up and down conversation that they've had just a few hours back and she couldn't help but feel sad and confused. After each day she spent with Michiru her resolve and feelings for her had only gotten bigger. She never knew the other girl could be so open… going as far as voluntarily _and rather forcibly_ sleeping with her. She went through the short amount of time they had spent together and grinned at the thought of their initial meeting and smiled as, when the days went by, she realized that they've grown closer and closer. In this short amount of time, she had made friends with the woman she fell in love with years ago. It may have been petty, on her part, to begin with. Who in the world liked someone from hearing mere stories and looking at pictures of them? Yet here she was, embracing said girl that she had madly fallen in love with and feeling sadder than she's ever felt in her life.

A few words passed through her mind that basically summed up her feelings quite easily. First was unrequited. Michiru: rich billionaire's daughter, heir to the fortune, prodigy, and girliest girl in the planet would never return her feelings regardless of how good their friendship may become. Second was forbidden. While her surrogate father was more than happy and supportive to know what her feelings are, that doesn't mean her other superior would be. She's never seen the male Kaioh thrown into anger… the same exact reason why she never wanted to try to test his patience in the first place.

_Add enough fuel to the fire… _she shuddered involuntarily. There was no doubt in her mind. If it came to his daughter… _He would kill me. And Yuriko-san… she would feed me to a school of piranhas. _She didn't know where that thought came from, but decided to keep going along with it. _Akira-san would kill me, his wife would chop me up and feed me to a school of piranhas and Michiru… She'd hate me…wouldn't she?_

At that exact moment, the violinist turned from her back to face the blonde and suddenly, Haruka knew why she fell in love in the first place. Deep aquamarine tresses fell softly down the shorter girl's porcelain face while her small, soft lips curled into a content smile. Her arms had managed to sneak their way around Haruka's waist, hugging her comfortably all the while placing her face only a couple inches away from the other's face. The blonde smiled softly and grazed her fingers over the shorter girl's soft cheeks.

_Why can't I just get rid of these feelings for you?_ _The world would be so much easier to live in… Not worth to live in… but at least easier…_

She sighed and continued on through the list all the while enjoying the beautiful view in front of her. Third… taken. A pang of pain involuntarily shot through her heart making her gulp.

"You won't want me forever you know," she whispered softly. Michiru merely slept on. "You'll want this guy you're hurting for someday and when that time comes, you won't need me anymore. Whoever he is, he won't turn you down. The first guy you set your eyes on will be the luckiest guy on earth. You'll know it, he'll know it and the whole world will know it. That's why he'd be pretty stupid to let you go… But, he'd be pretty stupid to think that I'll go without a fight too. I'll just go when you won't need me anymore and I want to hear that straight from you." Haruka closed her eyes momentarily, sighed, and looked away. _Maybe being thrown into a pool full of piranhas wouldn't be so bad._ She smiled ruefully and turned so that her back was to the mattress and Michiru to her side. "If only I can say this to you when you're actually awake to hear it… But really Michiru, I am a coward… And in the end, it doesn't really make sense to have a cowardly bodyguard."

She sighed again, much more audibly this time and clutched at the pain her chest had accumulated. In a matter of minutes, feeling more suffocated than uncomfortable, she pushed the covers away from her body and slowly got out of the shorter girl's embrace and off the bed without making her flinch. She sat on the cold floor silently and watched on, hoping that her time back in the company tomorrow would make her busy enough to stop thinking about the girl before her altogether.

Haruka sat on letting the storm pound away outside and just when sleep could finally catch up to her, a noise emitted from the outside distracting her from any further thought of sleep. Her head turned to the closed balcony door noticing the window near it open and frowned in skepticism. She knows what she heard. Amidst all the activity happening outside, the unmistakable sound of the backdoor opening and closing was faint, but clear. The clock read 3:46 AM. Slowly she raised her right pant leg to reveal a holster holding a small handgun which she took out and almost immediately pulled the safety switch off of. She gave one last look to a sleeping Michiru and crawled to the balcony. After unlocking it, she pulled it open small enough to let her through and closed it stealthily again.

The rain pounded mercilessly through her, drenching her clothes in mere seconds, but all she cared about was the shadowy figure under the protection from the torrential downpour of a nearby tree. She chanced a look down the balcony and noticed a large cut tree limb just underneath it connecting to the tree the figure stood under.

With ease she quietly got on top of the stone balcony railing, her freezing toes curling on the edges of it and crouched so that her hands gripped the rail tightly. She slid her feet down and hung by the rails, managing to touch the limb with her feet. She slowly let her hands travel down, clutching on the pillars holding the rails up and sooner than later successfully balanced on all fours on the lone tree limb. She crawled her way to the middle of the tree where a v formed from the limb and the trunk. About ten feet below, the figure was no longer shadowy nor his voice hard to hear.

"What the hell were you thinking? I told you! I warned you not get cocky! And what did you do? You pull out three billion dollars?!" Although the second commander of the DD was whispering, albeit loudly, Haruka could hear it all perfectly. "No! No you listen to me! I bet Morimoto-sama and Kaioh-sama would have your ass by now if they weren't stuck in this island. So while you're ahead, quit! I mean it. Tenoh is not happy. She's starting to get suspicious of me and when she starts digging, I can bet my ass that she's going to somehow connect you to me...No! Don't leave tomorrow, leave now! What the hell could you do with ten extra billion dollars that you can't already do with three?...don't…don't do this! Da-damn it!"

The built man looked at his cell phone and threw it in anger. It smashed against the cemented floor of the patio loudly, but he didn't seem to care anymore. "Damn it!" he grunted again and leaned into the tree.

A minute passed as raindrops continued to wash both of them slowly. Finally after a few minutes, Toriyama quietly snuck back inside the house and after him, Haruka followed suit through the balcony.

When she got back inside the room, she felt the extent of wetness the rain poured over her by the stickiness of her clothes, but this was the last thing on her mind. She needed to move quickly. There were many civilians in the house and every one of the bodyguards carried guns. It would be too easy for the second commander to take one of them as hostage which would make her job a whole lot harder. Not to mention what would happen if the bodyguards began shooting left and right without the thoughts of consequences. She gave a loud and audible sigh. She had no idea where their loyalties lie. _Saiki for sure has his loyalty based on Akira-san's, but his partner, Daigo, and Kei are unpredictable._ She already knew that they would not take her seriously if she told them the current situation regardless of their knowledge of her being their supreme superior underneath the President and Vice President.

A migraine crept up to her temples as she contemplated her options. The protection of her superiors was paramount...regardless of what could happen to her if she goes out of this room now. Toriyama was a ticking time bomb. This was the best opportunity to get rid of anyone who stood in his way. Regretting not shooting him earlier, she gave one last look at Michiru's still sleeping, lithe form and steeled herself. Her hand curled on the gun firmer as she walked slowly to the door. Opening it slowly she cocked the gun in front of her and swung to the right side, the bedroom being the farthest in the hallway. She kept the gun in front of her sweeping her eyes across the dimly lit second floor and proceeded to go downstairs, sweeping the gun simultaneously from the second story and the first. Reaching the bottom of the staircase she pointed her gun towards a surprised Muro sitting on the couch. He got up in reflex as Haruka searched the corners for a hiding second commander.

"Where's Toriyama?" she asked in a hushed whisper, not lowering her gun a centimeter.

A sleepy Saiki woke up from the commotion and looked up bewildered by Haruka's raised gun.

"He went out," Muro replied shortly.

Haruka dropped her raised arm and in question reiterated what Muro just said. "He went out?"

"Yes, he went to phone someone, went out the back door, came back in, and then went out again."

"Why didn't you stop him?" she asked incredulously.

"He...he—

"He's the commander," Saiki stated cutting Muro's confused stuttering. "He can go outside whenever he wants to... just like you can."

Haruka frowned deeply and massaged her temples. "Get your firearms out and look for him. Tell Daigo and Kei to go with you. If you spot him, try to take him down, but don't kill him—

"What?!" Muro and Saiki both cried in disbelief.

Haruka looked up at both of them, her face serious and solemn. "Don't make me repeat myself." This was exactly what she didn't want to see happen.

"Are you nuts?" Saiki yelled. "Take down Commander Toriyama? For what?"

Kei and Daigo, who were patrolling the house came into the commotion filled living room as Saiki asked the question.

"What's going on?" Kei asked in confusion.

"Commander Tenoh wants us to go after Commander Toriyama and take him down," Saiki retorted.

"For what?!" Both bodyguards asked in unison.

Haruka growled in frustration. "Do as I tell you and just go after him! He has vital information regarding to who's stealing the money from TWE and he's getting away!"

All four subordinates only looked at her strangely.

"What the hell are all of you waiting for?"

Their heads turned to an open bedroom door where the President of TWE stood in a robe.

"S-sir?" Daigo asked.

"Your _commanding officer_ just _commanded_ you to go after Toriyama," he replied darkly. "So what the hell are you waiting for?"

Saiki reached for his gun and looked at the others. "Let's move."

By the time all four bodyguards left, the house had woken. Everyone came trudging down to the living room with confused expressions.

"He knows who's doing it," Haruka informed with a deep frown.

Her superiors looked at her questioningly.

"They spoke by phone. He knows exactly who's doing it and whoever that person is, he or she's attempting to steal another ten billion."

Akira frowned darkly, mimicking Haruka's nicely. "I didn't want to believe it, but..." He shook his head and looked outside.

"I'm going to start early then," Haruka stated standing up. "I don't know when Toriyama left, but I'm pretty sure he's somehow found a way to get out of the island by now. He seemed pretty pissed when he found out that the guy stealing the money was back to steal more, so my guess is he wants to go back as soon as possible. Regardless, I promise not one more yen will leave TWE tonight."

Akira smiled grimly at her and nodded. Kenro just gave an I-knew-it look as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Haruka headed back upstairs as soon as she relayed her promise, glancing at Michiru who was at the foot of it shortly. Inside the borrowed bedroom, she put the polo shirt she discarded hours back and wore it over her wet clothes. Just as she put her shoes on, the door opened to reveal a worried Michiru.

"What's that look for?" Haruka grinned in a vain attempt to lighten the situation.

Michiru sighed deeply and closed the door behind her, the wrinkle on her forehead growing deeper in the process. Haruka stood up and put her hands in her pockets.

"Michiru-san, I—

She was cut off shortly as the younger girl literally flung herself at her, locking her in a fierce hug. She was left speechless for a moment, but then smiled and hugged the younger girl after getting her composure back.

"Are you leaving now?"

Deep blue orbs looked back at the blonde with worry.

"I...have to Michiru-san," the blonde said softly. She didn't realize her leaving would worry the other girl this much. Lightning flashed in the distance as thunder accompanied it momentarily. Michiru's arms around her tightened.

"Can't you wait until the rain subsides at least?"

Haruka shook her head. "I can't. It'll be too late by then."

"How are you leaving the island?" The violinist was hoping that her stalling technique, no matter how primitive asking a ton of questions is, would make her bodyguard change her mind.

But she was only given a small smile before giving the answer, "The same way we got in... a plane."

"The pilot isn't crazy enough to fly it in this weather!"

"Who says he'll fly it? I know how to pilot planes Michiru-san..."

_Oh my God Otou-san...what can't she do? _Michiru bit her lip. "But...but it's dangerous!"

Haruka sighed. "You do realize that doing dangerous things is in the job description right?"

"You need a new job..."

Haruka laughed. "You may be right about that." As her laughter subsided, she looked back down to find the younger girl's eyes shining, looking at her with extreme worry, confusion, and... "Michiru-sa—

Sooner than she could get the honorific out, she found the violinist's lips on hers. She must've been paralyzed in shock because she couldn't return a simple peck back. The kiss lingered for a second and finally Michiru pulled back and looked at her imploringly. The shorter girl partially moved out of the hug as if to give her room if she needed it but the blonde remained speechless and unmoving. Sensing the discomfort between them grow tremendously, Haruka broke eye contact with her and looked down, catching on how her wet clothes had gotten the other girl's pajamas wet as well. She frowned and flitted her eyes nervously at anything, but the beautiful girl in front of her.

"I..." _What the hell am I supposed to say?_

Michiru looked up at her expectantly.

_Something... Anything! _"I'm sorry I got you clothes wet..." After a second she realized just how lame she must have just sounded. _Okay... maybe not anything._

Michiru's frown returned.

"I-I mean—

"Haruka-chan?" Kenro called barging in.

The taller girl in reflex stepped away and out of Michiru's hug as she looked at the vice president. "Yes, Kenro-san?" The hurt expression unhidden by sad blue eyes did not go unnoticed.

"The bodyguards are back. Saiki reported that one of the float planes was stolen. You need to get going now."

Haruka grunted in aggravation. Michiru only walked away from her and towards the bed, her curly strands hiding her eyes effectively.

"M-Michiru—

"Just go."

The voice that came from the smaller girl was something alien to Haruka. It was neutral, void of any real emotion. Panic welted inside the blonde. Leaving now would be a deathly mistake, she knew that well enough. She tried again, "Mich—

"I'm fine, really." The violinist looked up at her and gave a smile.

Haruka's heart dropped. The smile she gave now was too familiar. The dead eyes and fake smile reminded her of their first meeting.

"Haruka-chan," Kenro called once more.

The blonde sighed defeated. Torn between work and her feelings, she looked at Michiru dejectedly. "We'll talk later okay?"

Michiru nodded in compliance. Haruka stood her ground for a second before grabbing her gun from the lamp table and heading towards the door.

"Be careful."

She looked back at the younger girl, panic and sadness filling her all at once. "Yeah, I will."

O-----O

As the small plane glided through the dark rain clouds, Haruka knew she'd just made a mistake. Possibly the worst mistake she'll ever make in her life. She brushed her fingers absently on her lips and felt the violinist's lips on hers once more. A warm feeling spread through her body making her smile. Almost too soon though, she was once again berating herself.

"Damn it I shouldn't have left!" she grunted loudly to no one, but herself in particular.

Michiru's hurt expression crossed her mind again making her brow furrow in sadness as well as disappointment, more towards herself than anything or anyone.

"Great job Haruka! Of all the things you could've said, you mentioned her wet clothes!" She rolled her eyes in annoyance. She really did feel like smacking herself for acting like a total idiot, but the radar showed that she was getting close to the port and luckily the rain had subsided a little as she started flying so it wouldn't be any longer until she landed. She needed to finish this task expediently. The sooner this is done, the sooner she could talk to Michiru and relay her what her real feelings are exactly...although she's deduced that, that would be the hardest thing to do above all else.

"Next time, hopefully... I can say the right thing."

AN:P XD anyway…yeah decided to put this up earlier since I noticed the chappy is hella small (probably the smallest chapter in the whole story, but don't take my word for that). A lot of people deduced Toriyama of doing it…can't blame you…I sorta set him up to be the bad guy since like…the fourth chapter. In the most likely of situations I will update again this weekend seeing as this is a hella short chapter (takes like less than five minutes to read) and that people have been wanting (begging) for updates…so yeah putting up chapter 12 this weekend looks very promising. Other than that I don't think there's anything else to explain so let's get on w/ my one sided convos. Oh! And another all time review high XD. You guys spoil me…

Alex Tenoh: Well thank you. I just love reviews too XD

Petiyaka: VERY WELL SAID. I totally agree.

Heatqueen: heh…Haruka'll be fine don't worry about her. She's been doing it for years now…she'll know what to do if she gets caught or gunned down. XD j/k really…I won't kill any canon characters…that's just too sad.

Cybeleflame: withdrawals?? I sound like a drug hahaha. Yeah, Haruka's a dimwit when it comes to showing/saying how she feels. She'll try harder don't worry.

Sakura blossoms24: hopefully this was a fast enough update for the week.

Thepillows93: hahaha glad you liked the INTERACTION and Haruka kicking ass will...:P wont' give anything up. XD

Knightlight: XD HERE'S MORE!!

Sam: Glad you like it. As for Yuriko…I'll say this now so you or anyone else won't be led astray: this isn't a "one of the parents are wicked and tries to sabotage their kids" fic. I've actually read a lot of those so I decided to make nice parents XD. Yuriko is strict…that's all…in the long run though all she cares about is Michiru's well being…because, just like her husband, she's protective of her daughter too, albeit a little differently.

Agent-Ayu: hahah glad you could read what you've missed out on and TWE's whole situation will begin unraveling/wrapping up in a few chappies. As for your intuition as to who it could be…sure I'll give it a nod. Well you definitely know it's Toriyama now. XD

Smartieox: wow…gonna hurt someone huh? I feel sorry for the people around you…sorta glad you don't know who I really am XD. I might be sporting bruises and bloody noses by now….hahaha j/k. Me?? Playing games?? Ridiculous…This is top priority…next to school XD. As for going back and re-editing the chappy…I'll do it again when I'm not so busy. I wanted to produce something in the allotted time so sorry if it seemed rushed. You know… at times I feel you may have MPD…first you want me to update quickly…then you're like OMG so many shifty letters, you shouldn't have rushed it. XD pretty funny. How many more chapters? It's probably going to be eighteen total…-nod- yeah…18 sounds nice. And as for whodunit you probably already guessed one person, but just to warn, there are a few more OC's coming so maybe you don't know everything:D Well it'll definitely make you come back so see you next update.

Haruka's Knight: Ahh yes, 17 and falling…brb…I'm gonna go reminisce for a sec………. there…back XD. And I'm glad I've gotten you curious about TWE 'cuz that's where the storyline'll take us to the very end. XD Well the main reason H&M met up was cuz of the shooting so it'll only be right to end the story with no loopholes in the storyline…shooting, moles, money…all that taken care of…as well as a good ending for the two heroines. –sigh- it won't end soon, but I'm dreading its finish…gonna miss these one sided convos…XD

Reusch: hahaha…I wonder how many times people have said no pressure… but still yeah.. no pressure :D Hope this was soon enough and reading's nice any time of the week whether it's the weekday or weekend. Imagination needs satiation XD

DreamingOfMyGirl: Heh, thanks for the many reviews. As for Kenro being one of the bad guys :) you tell me now that you've gone through what everyone's read so far.

MilenaOne: Hahah, I personally enjoy missing updates…just cuz there's hella more to read.

Facing Reality: OMG you're awesome…for reviewing! XD Thank you for the kind words and I'll keep it updated for your viewing pleasure.

Mantaray: FANSERVICE RULES ALL…who cares about the main arc right? It's all about fanservice. When you guys are happy…I'm happy…cuz it's all about fanservice.

Thenightwithin: Heh, well thank you for remembering to stop by and review. Appreciate it.

RachelAe: Michiru really knows how to push buttons and Haruka…yep…although I'm sad to say I would probably act like how's she's acting if I were put in her shoes. You probably wanna bonk her in the head after this chappy huh? Hahaha and you really like Saiki that much huh? No ass kicking in this chapter and probably no evil!Saiki in the next one (just so you know) but I hope you're looking forward to it nonetheless.


	12. The First Commander

Chapter 12: The First Commander

They left the island as soon as dawn came. The rain by then had subsided dramatically and was only sprinkling whereas some hours ago it was torrential downpour.

Now, sitting in her seat in class 2-A, Michiru felt a pang of worry and sadness as she glanced at the empty seat beside her.

"Ahh, I see the Queen's Guards are back," Hokuto replied with mirth referring to Saiki and Muro behind MIchiru's seat where she first met them. Her smile slid though as she noticed the other girl's eyes on the still empty seat. "Where's Tenoh-san?"

Michiru rubbed her eyes in a tired fashion and forced a smile on her features as she faced Hokuto. "Working," was the small reply.

Hokuto nodded understandingly. "I tried calling your condo yesterday to see if you wanted to go do some shopping, but you didn't answer."

"Oh! I was with my parents yesterday. We visited some relatives from my mother's side."

"I see."

Their conversation dwindled as their homeroom teacher finally came in.

Michiru never realized how boring class truly was until that day. Although she unconsciously answered every question the teacher asked of her in a manner where it looked like she was paying attention, her mind was nowhere near the lessons. Instead, it always went back to the only absent student in class.

Truth be told, she had no idea where her courage came from just a few hours back. She didn't even realize she'd kissed Haruka until two green orbs looked back at her widely in surprise. A red tinge graced across her features. And then, as soon as it came, it was replaced by the worry and sadness that's been haunting her since.

_Would she reciprocate my feelings?_ She sighed inwardly. _Of all the things to say though Haruka, do you really think I cared about a pair of pajamas I didn't even own at the time. _She rolled her eyes at the thought of the other's blunt words. _She would make such a typical...guy..._

She bit the bottom of her lip softly and was rewarded with the sweet memory of the older girl's mouth pressed against her hers. She smiled softly. Through the lonely hours after Haruka had left, realization hit her hard with the fact that being without Haruka was too lonely. With the thought of sleep far behind her buzzing mind, she began wondering how she got through sixteen long years without ever knowing the blonde. And with her feelings out in the open, how would things change? She didn't know. All she knew was that she couldn't let Haruka go without her knowing how the blonde felt about her. Truly felt. Not as her classmate. Not as her friend. And definitely not as her ward, but something more. Much more than any of the painfully obvious. But the fact that Haruka may not feel the way she does made the violinist's stomach churn wildly. The one billion yen question.

_Do you feel the same?_

Even the mere thought of Haruka acting differently towards her makes her heart wrench. What if she's scared of her now? Of confrontations or just being around her? What if--

"Michiru-san?"

She turned to Saiki's familiar voice and gave a questioning glance.

"It's time for lunch. Most of your classmates had left, even Sumeragi-san. She stated on how she needed to meet a certain classmate and when you didn't answer, just left."

Michiru nodded in acknowledgment and stood up from her desk. Saiki and Muro quickly followed her out of the classroom and into the overly crowded hallway.

O-----O

Walking out of Mugen and into the parking lots Michiru, with her bodyguards in tow, looked over her schedule. Empty. There were no meetings with her manager, no practices with the Okinawa Symphony... nothing. Usually she'd be more than happy to have an empty schedule since it would mean spending more time with a certain blonde, but unfortunately, said girl wasn't spending a rare day off with her. She sighed inwardly and got into the Bentley Continental when Saiki opened the door for her.

As she sat herself down, Saiki's phone rang out. The young man went in after her and answered his phone. "Saiki...Kaioh-san! Yes, we're just leaving the school... no I don't know what Michiru-san's plans are today...Oh sure, no problem sir." He looked at the younger Kaioh and held his phone in front of her. "Kaioh-sama would like to speak with you."

She took the phone from his hand and greeted her father.

"Michi-chan, how was school?" Akira asked from the other line.

"It was fine Otou-san." Hoping that luck was on her side, she asked almost instantly, "Is Haruka there?"

"Haruka-chan? Actually she went down to Unit Three's floor to talk to the people who were working the computers last night some time ago."

Michiru sighed deflated. "I see...what did you want to speak to me about?"

"We've postponed the celebratory party with Sony to tonight. I was hoping you would join your mother and me."

The violinist immediately felt panicky. "Otou-san, aren't you worried of another sniping? Your shoulder's not even healed! You're still wearing a sling!"

"It won't happen this time," he stated. He sounded very resolute. "The majority of the DD is on watch in and around the tower tonight. If anyone even attempts another shooting, they won't get away. This morning as soon as Kenro and I arrived, the two of us along with Haruka-chan gathered the whole of the DD and announced Haruka-chan's position to all of them. After the shock settled in, we dropped the bomb about Toriyama and she gave the orders to take him down if or when anyone even catches a glance that resembles him. For tonight she's given the go ahead to shoot at will, not to kill or anything, but just to bring down, and that's towards anyone that's considered a threat. She's taking care of everything Michi-chan. There's no threat tonight."

"She seems overworked."

Akira laughed loudly. "Oh, she's back! Haruka-chan, am I overworking you?"

Michiru pressed the phone closer to her ear. In the background, she heard the tomboy's low mellow voice answer, "What?"

"Michi-chan says you seem overworked."

She could almost see the blonde smile. "I'm fine. Is that her?"

"Yup--

"Otou-san, let me speak with her."

"Well that's not fair! I call you to talk to talk to you and you kick me out to talk to my subordinate!"

"Otou-san!"

"Alright, alright. Haruka-chan, Kenro and I will be at Conference Room A when you get done."

"Yes sir," Haruka's small voice said in the background, and spoke again a couple seconds later, clearer and closer. "Hello?"

"Hey Haruka." A casual hello sounded nervous to Michiru's ears.

"Michiru-san. How was your day?"

The violinist thought for a moment to answer the same way she's done all day to the same question and then caught herself. "Boring...very...boring."

"I see...Is there...umm...homework?"

Michiru rubbed her temples. _What...a...boy..._ "You...will you be at the party tonight?" She decided to not answer the question for fear of sarcasm in her voice.

"I'm not really sure. There are a lot of loose ends I have to deal with before the night's end and it'll be easier to look through everything when everyone's mainly at the party."

The younger girl sighed in disappointment. "Ok, I'll see you when I see you then."

"Y-yeah..."

Silence rang for a few seconds. Michiru smiled knowing full well the silence was making the blonde completely uncomfortable. Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke out. "Alright then Haruka, have a good day."

"Yeah I will. I'll try to finish up so I can come to the party."

"I'll look forward to seeing you. I...miss you Haruka."

When no sound filtered from the other end, the violinist thought that the other girl had already hung up. She was about to do so as well when she heard her Godfather in the background.

"Haruka-chan, the attendance sheet from Unit Three's here."

"Okay," Haruka answered.

"Who's that? Michiru-chan? Oh come on! It's just been a couple of hours! Let's go, Akira's waiting."

"Yeah. I'll have to talk to you later Michi...Michiru."

Michiru's eyes widened in disbelief as her heart leapt. She smiled softly and pressed the phone even closer to her in an attempt to feel closer to the blonde in the other line. "See you later," she stated tenderly.

"Later..."

Michiru flipped the phone off and smiled at if softly for a second before giving it to a skeptical Saiki.

"Is everything okay?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Michiru gave an uncharacteristically goofy smile. "Never better."

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

"I've been doing a thorough background check on Toriyama all night and in more than one occasion, linked him to Unit Three DD member Kawa Sora. Kawa is the head of our Hacking Branch and he came into the DD on special recommendations by Toriyama. He's handled major cases before. Among those cases is the recent affiliation with the clashing of our software against RST. I made Toriyama look it over and he gave me the negative on it and it was careless on my part, but I took his word at the time it happened. I've also checked his work log and it stated that he came to work yesterday night even though it was supposed to be his day off.

"Having enough allegations against him to drive me to suspicion I've decided to take a few members of the DD with me and infiltrate his home. According to a Unit Two member that I've assigned to follow him since he left the building earlier this morning, he's at home resting. It's as good a time as any to take him in for interrogation with little interference or resistance."

Akira looked at the tall, standing blonde in front of him and nodded in compliance. "Which members will you be taking?"

"Kei, Daigo, Shu, and Taku. I've briefed them of my plans beforehand. They're just waiting for my lead."

"Be careful then," Kenro warned. "Be in and out as fast as you can."

"Understood."

With that Haruka nodded, turned around, and left Conference Room A.

O-----O

Kawa Sora lived in an apartment complex in the more suburban part north of Tokyo. All around him were many more apartment complexes, each one looking like the other. In two of the adjacent apartments facing his', Kei and Daigo stood rooted to an open, black curtain covered window with sniper rifles aimed directly at his head.

"Clear for firing. Waiting for the go ahead," Daigo's voice streamed to an earpiece connected to Haruka's ear.

"Copy that. If you hear any gunshots fired you are free to take down. Refrain from killing, but if it can't be helped, then you may go ahead and implement the decisions you see fit," Haruka directed.

She turned to a figure propped in the bushes near a BMW Z3. "Taku, if Kawa somehow goes through me and Shu--

"I will disable his car and him if I see fit Commander," Taku replied.

"Good." She turned to Shu as they both locked their silencers into the barrel of their guns. "Let's go."

They stealthily entered the apartment complex, their guns at their sides. Surprisingly enough, it was very empty, devoid of any passing people or activity. Haruka looked up at the staircase before going up followed closely by the other DD member, her looking before them while he backtracked and kept close watch at what was happening from behind. They successfully got to the third floor without anyone spotting them and stood in front of a brown wooden door with the numbers thirty seven engraved near the peephole.

Shu proceeded to pick the lock and as soon as he heard the door lock unclick, looked at Haruka for further actions.

Haruka turned the door slowly and cracked it open enough to see a portion of the inside. Straight ahead with his back turned to them was their main target, busily typing in his computer and about ten flat screen LCD monitors piled before him.

Kawa Sora looked like your every day computer geek. Cropped on top of his head was messy, short black hair and upon his face were wire rimmed glasses. He was pretty short; five feet five at the most, and at the present moment wore nothing but a red tank top and cargo shorts.

Aiding them on their mission, his computer speakers blared out music that was loud enough to cause complaints from his neighbors. What confused Haruka was the lack of security. Either this wasn't the guy that stole all the money from TWE's accounts or he was the cockiest nerd alive. No surveillance cameras, obviously placed or hidden, could be detected by the blonde from a once over and their presence was still pretty much unknown to the still busy thief. Shrugging aside the stupidity of someone who's been laying low and doing a good job playing both fences, Haruka sneaked in the room followed by Shu and both crept to an unsuspecting Kawa.

Only when Haruka had the barrel of the gun touching the back of his head and had released the safety did the suspect know what was going on. His body sat rigidly on his computer chair as the coldness of the gun seeped from his back and down to the base of his spine.

"Turn the music off slowly," Haruka instructed from behind.

Kawa slid his hand to a mute button in the top of his keyboard and immediately the music stopped. Only the light chirping of birds outside could be heard and finally, he could see the faint gleam of metal sticking out from the window of the apartment in front of his. He gulped loudly in nervousness.

"Interesting things you're working on here Kawa-san," Haruka replied softly. She leaned into his side making the gun press closer to the back of his head in order to better inspect the brightly lit computer monitors before them. "Why may I ask do you have ten different bank accounts in seven different countries in ten different names with at least three hundred million dollars in each account when the last time I checked, you were only paid six hundred thousand yen a year?"

Kawa's fingers twitched on the keyboard and before he could press a single key, Haruka had kicked his computer chair away from his desk. As the computer chair swiveled and stopped against one of the walls, the blonde quickly went after the chair and gripped Kawa's neck with her left hand, her right hand pointing the gun right at his carotid vein. Shu backed her up by pointing his gun an inch away from the nervous man's left temple.

"Commander, is everything okay?" a worried Daigo asked through Haruka's earpiece.

"Everything's okay. Get the top five Unit Three members here to take a look at the computer. Make sure they find out a way to move all the money back to TWE's account and to also find out how this was all pulled together so secretly. Once they're done, I want the computers to be sent to TWE for a more thorough look over as well as everything that looks even remotely close to interesting in this apartment. Have as much people as you need so this whole business can be done before the celebratory party. Everyone will be working overtime tonight."

"Copy that."

Haruka smirked as her steely gaze made the cowering twenty year old below her shiver in fear.

"Commander?" Taku's voice stated.

"Yes?"

"I'm in front of the apartment with the Escalade. Waiting for you, Shu, and Kawa."

"Good," Haruka answered, then bore her eyes to the hazel ones before her. When Kawa's brown eyes kept flitting below her face Haruka smirked at her sudden realization, pulled her left hand away from his neck and grabbed his left forearm instead.

"Stay still," Shu from beside her muttered darkly and pressed the gun into his temple. Kawa nodded before making his body limp, making it easier for the blonde to look closely at the gleaming accessory on his wrist

"Nice watch," she said with a small smile. "From the way your skin feels underneath it, it seems you haven't taken it off for quite awhile...even for showering. RST came out with a model like this for their top spyware line. Take it off without the necessary precautions and dire consequences follow such as a bomb going off someplace, alerting comrades of your current situation, and even more complex things, like controlling electronics devices with a single touch. What does this certain one do Kawa-san, and please be advised that you are being watched on all angles right now. Lying to me won't be good for you."

Kawa's eye twitched as he swallowed the growing saliva in his mouth. "I--It's for the computers. Taking it off alerts the others that I've been taken while the inner controls are strictly for the computers."

Haruka nodded and laid her index finger over the smooth surface. "I was there, you know...when RST came out with this. The second they brought it out, people thought it was genius... and in the first five minutes that they showcased it, I already found a loophole." Kawa's eyes bulged in front of her as she continued, "Taking if off wouldn't be good. I could care less about your accomplices knowing because we'll catch them sooner or later, but I don't believe it when you say that them knowing of your current situation is the only thing that happens when it's taken off. I believe if I do that now that, that computer will shut off and before even one Unit Three member comes to look at it, all the information about the money will be gone. So therefore, we have to work around that. Would you like to know about the loophole I found? It's...a pretty obvious thing to do once you think a little less...humanely." The black haired boy frowned at her in confusion as she slid her finger across his forearm. "The mechanism will only react if the latch comes off from the watch. What happens if I cut your forearm off Kawa-san?"

At the sudden realization of the sadistic words that came out of the woman before her, Kawa gave off a strangled cry. "N—No! Please! I know how to disable it! Let me do it!"

"How can I trust you?"

"If the computer turns off, do what you want with me!"

The blonde shook her head easily. "That's a given Kawa-san. I. Don't. Trust. You."

"Then wait 'til Unit Three comes! Please!"

"Shu, are you a patient man?" The question came suddenly making Kawa a bit confused.

"Only when I have to be commander," the man answered her, keeping his eyes locked on the Unit Three member in front of him.

"Hmm, me too. And when we don't have to wait, I don't see a reason why we should," Haruka nodded in agreement.

Kawa shook his head vigorously. "The-the winder of the watch, it pops out twice. P-pull it out, but make sure you don't pull it out all the way. Pulling it out all the way conflicts with the computer. If you just pull it once the clock stops. Wind it all the way to 5:55 and lock it back in. I tried it once already in case I wanted to get out of the deal without my people knowing. If you do it correctly, you should be able to take out the watch without it reacting. Please, please...just try it for Christ's sake!"

Haruka looked at him with a blank look for a second and turned back to Shu. "You believe him?"

"I don't think he wants him extremities cut off..." the other man answered funnily.

The blonde shrugged and without second guessing it did as Kawa directed. In no time at all, with the watch reading 5:55, Haruka unlatched it and waited for something to happen.

As if reading her mind, Kawa responded, "The faceplate would start blinking in red if something happened...and the computer's still working finely."

She smirked at him and twirled the watch in her hands. "Very nice Kawa-san. Thank you for that. I hope you'll remain cooperative during your entire stay with us. Now, here's the plan," Haruka said without missing a beat. "When your coworkers from Unit Three arrive, that's our cue to move out. I want you to walk with your hands linked together at the base of your spine and when a neighbor of yours comes across us, you will look at them, smile, and walk on. If I see your hands unlink at all during our walk from this room to the car waiting outside I'll personally make sure to sever your hands altogether so you won't ever make the same mistake again. If you decide to talk to any passing neighbor instead of what I just told you to do, I'll make sure to cut off your tongue. Run and I'll sever your ankles-- do _anything_ that's not in my clear directions and I'll make you pay tenfold. Do we have an understanding?"

Kawa shuddered involuntarily at the cold and sinister voice coming out of the blonde in front of him. That same voice held not a hint of lie to what she's just promised. All there was, were sadistic, truth speaking eyes. He momentarily nodded, knowing full well that his voice left him some time ago.

O-----O

The stale smell of the room reeked into his nose; the heat and a smell of something else he knew, but couldn't quite fathom made his gag reflex go off every ten seconds. It was dark as well and even though he's been sitting in the same dark room for what felt like hours, his eyes haven't adapted to the dark, meaning that no light was able to filter in or out of it.

His hands and feet, much to his annoyance, were tied quite tightly to the chair he sat on and his mouth was gagged as well. No matter how he looked at it, he wasn't in a very favorable situation. About the only good thing he felt right now was his attitude. The waiting repressed his fear from the earlier events and made him more annoyed instead.

A bright light suddenly burned through his vision, his eyes shrinking in reflex. Not being able to adapt his eyes just yet, his ears perked up to hear a big metal door opening and closing and two sets of footsteps coming ever closer to his rooted spot. They stopped momentarily and when his vision finally returned, he found the First Commander and another Unit Four bodyguard before him, staring him down.

"Take the gag off," the blonde commanded and the very built, slightly scarred, tall man next to her nodded and followed suit, pulling the gag from his mouth to his neck roughly and without a care as to whether it hurt him or not. "You'll be glad to know," Haruka started, pulling a chair to her and sitting down on it while cockily smirking, "that all of the money you stole in the past month has been placed back in TWE. All three billion plus dollars..."

Kawa looked away from her and instead stared at the floor. He only gave a little shrug to acknowledge her words.

"Unfortunately for you," the blonde continued. "We still have questions that we are dying to know the answers to—

"You know, I don't understand why money is so important to you already so rich bitches," Kawa spat narrowing his eyes at the relaxed blonde. Yes, the isolation and darkness had definitely peeved him. "I would think that trying to find the damn sniper who almost killed President Kaioh would be much more important than trying to get money back that you can accumulate in a couple more years, but...I guess money does make the world go round, huh? Isn't there another party tonight?"

Haruka merely smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah, there is—

"Then I hope to freakin' God that he gets shot again!" the young man exclaimed, cutting her off again. "This time, I hope the damn sniper can actually shoot at his heart or better yet his brain rather than—

_Smack._

Kawa felt his head snap to the right as the tall man, not the blonde as he first thought, slapped his face heavily enough to draw blood.

"I advice you to watch what you say in this room Kawa-san," Haruka replied softly. "Not a lot of people go out of here unscathed."

As Kawa brought his head back he finally noticed the red splotches against the walls and realized what the familiar coppery odor in the air consisted of. Dried blood. The thought almost made him gag.

"You became a rather busy bee after the sniping though didn't you?" Haruka continued again, not heeding any attention to the ill colors grazing across the young man's face. "The night of the sniping, you took out three million yen when everyone was too busy making sure President Kaioh was okay. Before the sniping, you ran extremely covert operations, just stealing minuscule amounts of money. Then, right after it, you became very greedy and took as much as you could. Do you realize that was your downfall?"

Kawa looked at the smiling blonde with knitted eyebrows. "The sniping was the perfect opportunity I needed, what can I say? All of you were too busy trying to protect President Kaioh and his family and the whole of DD was on the case trying to solve it before the party tonight—

"Exactly," the blonde cut off this time.

Kawa looked at her questioningly as she continued.

"You thought that everyone was on the edge with the sniping case—that everyone pushed the laundering case out of the way because the protection of Akira-san, Kenro-san, and their families was paramount. I bet you and Toriyama even planned it out with each other, with him divulging the information that I was out on the field taking care of Akira-san's daughter. That I was out of TWE. That I no longer had my eyes on you and that I was completely out of the way.

"But Kawa-san, that's exactly where you and Toriyama went wrong. I _chose_ to leave the premises of TWE. I did so to lure you worms out of hiding. But I had to have a reason for leaving. I couldn't possibly just leave from out of nowhere..it would've been suspicious for you and Toriyama. I had to have a clear, solid reason to make you believe that all of my attention was elsewhere. So Akira-san, Kenro-san, and I came up with a plan."

Kawa's eyes widened in shock, realization setting in.

"The sniping case was never the first priority. It wasn't a priority at all. It was constructed by me, Akira-san, and Kenro-san to make you, Toriyama, and every traitor in this company believe that I was so distracted with the well being of my superiors that people laundering money became the last thing on my mind, giving you screw ups ample opportunities to do what you do best...screw up."

"You were the one who shot Pres--

"The thing we Kaiohs and Morimotos hate the most, out of everything in the world Kawa-san, is being made a fool of. We don't care about the money, or if the company went down because of you. We only care about getting respect and maintaining it. You came and screwed that up, even going as far as giving software to RST. So we're just making you pay for your actions. It's that simple. We. Don't. Like. Being. Screwed. And we'll do everything in our power to teach whoever manages to do so, a lesson."

"Y-you're all crazy!" Kawa stammered as Haruka stood up with a still calm smile on her face. "Who the hell volunteers to get shot at just 'cuz--

"As I said before, there are many questions that we still need to get answers for. Tatsuki-san, make sure you make him spill his guts out. Get all the information he has in him out and call me as soon as he...opens up," Haruka stated to the built man and looked at Kawa again. "I'm sorry Kawa-san, I would stay and watch Tatsuki-san torture you--you know he almost makes it seem like an art... BUT unfortunately I'm late for the celebratory party." And with that, the blonde gave one last smile to the already panicking former Unit Three member and left the room.

AN: Alrighty…you know…I remember these chapters being longer… but… -shrug- guess not. Anyway I was deliberating on joining chapter 13 with this, just for the sole reason of making it longer…BUT…it wouldn't have flowed real well…plus I want things to settle in before going further with the story…the information in this one's a little hard to swallow already. Furthermore chapter 13 will be a shorty as well… but chapter 14 looks long enough :D so yeah… I dunno…I guess there are times in their story where the author feels the chapter should stop…and when I feel that, I really do stop so –bow- sorry ahead of time. Not much H&M interaction here, but I promise that for next chapter…that's the main reason why I didn't join em up…cuz the dynamics would've been too different. One thing you're seeing Haruka in her role as the first commander, the next the two lovebirds are smooching. XD (oooo was that a clue as to what'll happen next chappy?? –shrug- I dunno…:D) But anyway…I just wanna know as a show of hands…who knew Haruka was the sniper:D Show of hands please XD…I just wanna know my surprise skills (if they are existent). And don't ask how Akira was chosen…I was joking about it w/ my gf that he and Kenro played a little jankenpon (rock/paper/scissor) and the loser would get shot in the shoulder by Haruka. Hahaha. Apparently Akira lost…

Ceybeleflame: hahaha u sound so aggravated XD sorry for the short chapters yet again. I'll try to update quickly this week too.

Agent-Ayu: hahahah I love how u basically summed up the story up to the last chapter in one whole sentence. –clap-

1010'jin: hahaha…my secret?? Nothing much actually…just a lotta editing…I actually have two different word docs per chapter…before and after I edit…the difference is uncanny. So yeah…edit…and grabbing a beta wouldn't be such a bad idea either…people who haven't read it a million times are more liable to catch mistakes you've been overlooking…although I don't have a beta.. XD I dunno…I don't think I take criticism all to well.

Jenn: Heh, I'm so up into reading I read well into the night…did that recently actually… and the story was very well worth it. :D I think I went to sleep at 5…

Heatqueen: Haruka's dense hahaha that's all I can say about it. Next chapter is the chapter of reckoning…hope you'll like it.

Ja-fall2pieces: Heh, well now u know right? And Haruka…well it'll be fine…I promise.

Raginfiredesire: Haruka…a dumb dumb XDD and Kenro with more blackmail pix…that would be leet.

Haruka's Knight: hahaha I'd actually feel too awkward to email people AFTER my fic's done…they'll prolly be like wth… so I won't be doing that. As for Kawa, there'll be more information about him later…he's connected to Toriyama more than I've stated (and no…they're not gay together for anyone who mistook what I just said for that) hahaha…that train of thought's pretty funny actually….especially since Toriyama would be like…this built short tempered, not to be reckoned man gay with a short nerd xD…aight enough of that… and sorry about ur jeans btw…it reminds me of the time I was too young to know bleach wasn't supposed to be added with the colors and I did my brother's laundry…hahaha I could only thank god it wasn't my clothes.

Petiyaka: I wouldn't like to be one of my characters either…they go through hella abuse… XD

Sakura blossoms4: heh…well can't say this isn't more.

Reusch: XD well I'm glad you're satisfied w/ the shorty chappies. Hope this one's in the okay range too.

LitaDelacour: Haruka has such a way with words what can we say?

Yamato: There's always a good reason to look forward to a weekend….this is just an added bonus. And I'm glad the little Haruka psyche was enough to satiate XD

Bound Dragon: updating! Updating!

Thepillows93: XD faster updates don't necessary mean better content.

Thenightwithin: you're very welcome. Hope this chapter was good enough to look forward to.

MilenaOne: I'm sorry for spoiling u with longer chapters…I truly truly am. I'm also sorry for the next one because it'll be as long or rather…short as this one. But thank you for the wonderful comments nonetheless.

DreamingOfMyGirl: hahaha Haruka sweeping Michiru off her feet XD nah…not yet…and isn't the whole they're together but not together just the most effective way of making readers come back?? XD

RachelAe: hahaha Michiru's hella hot…and yes…I know exactly how it feels…I've been crushing on that cartoon woman since I've seen her. XD But a little interlude in the story never hurt right? It's aggravating as some people may say, but they'll get together in due time.


	13. Ditching the Party

Chapter 13: Ditching the Party

When Michiru stood out of the limo, the first thing she noted was the security. All along the parapets of nearby buildings as well as along Tokyo Tower were black suited men, each adorned with the different ties that showed their respectable ranks. Even inside the many adjacent hotels were similar suited men, gazing down from their dimly lit rooms to the already ongoing party outside. Lastly, there were bodyguards clustered along the entrance and inside of the tower all adorning blood red ties. Saying that security was heavy was an understatement— the entire DD seemed to be present. This didn't stop the media though. All along the sides, being held back by Unit Four members were newscasters and paparazzi trying to get as much information and pictures from the arriving guests.

"Kaioh-sama doesn't want another accident to happen," Saiki replied from behind her.

Michiru glanced around for a sign of sandy blonde hair. "Is my father here already?"

"He shouldn't be. The guests were given earlier times to arrive so that when he and Morimoto-sama comes out, there won't be anyone in their way going into the building. If there is another shooting tonight, they don't want casualties regarding the guests... they'd rather prefer taking the bullets themselves."

The aqua haired girl nodded. Knowing her father... yes, he would rather do that.

As she began walking forward, she felt Muro brush her side as he walked in front of her and simultaneously felt Saiki walk a stride behind her. All along the sides, some Unit Four ranked DD members closed in on her as well, the whole thing reminding her of the night of the sniping. Inside, she felt a shaky nervous feeling similar to that night. She desperately wished Haruka was by her side. It would have relieved her far more than a hundred DD members circling her like vultures...as protective as their gesture may have seemed.

"Ara, you'll scare all the guests away at this rate," she joked, futilely masking the nervousness she felt.

"Oh, this order came straight from Commander Tenoh," Saiki explained. "It was only ordered for family members and top Sony executives so the other guests won't be subjected to this."

Michiru nodded absentmindedly as they finally moved into the entrance of the elevators. When all three of them entered it, the crowd of bodyguards dispersed back to their original posts, the elevator closing shortly thereafter.

The violinist moved to the back of the elevator and pressed her leather coat closer to her. She wore a light blue evening gown that hugged her proportions in the perfects places. It was held up on her creamy shoulders by spaghetti straps and her dainty feet were held up by four inch high, open toed heels. It was simple, to say the least, but looked very elegant and refined on her.

She took a small glance outside at the amazing view, but looked passed it. Her mind would not let go of a fleeting image of her dashing bodyguard.

If anyone were to tell her only two weeks ago that she would be so needy of another's affection...she who was independent in every sense and was too busy to even give boys a second look.. she would've scoffed and laughed loudly despite of how unladylike it might have be. And yet, here she was fighting with herself as to whether or not she should ask the too nice bodyguard standing in front of her if a certain blonde was coming tonight or if she would have to go another lonely night without her presence.

Michiru sighed. Needy was right. She looked away from the scenery into a worried Saiki's face.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked with genuine worry. "You seem so out of it today."

Michiru smiled and nodded. "Just a lot in my mind."

The young man nodded understandingly. "Yeah, this whole thing is sort of nerve wracking. I don't know why there's a need for another celebratory party so soon since—

"Pride," Michiru smiled, putting it simply. "My father and Godfather never want others to see their weakness and when it does become exposed, they want to show no fear by doing things like this." She sighed in annoyance and continued in her head. _At the expense of my poor Haruka..._

Saiki smiled as the door opened to a full and rolling party. The circular room was filled with three piece suited dressed men and office dressed businesswomen, talking over a soft orchestra performing in the side. Michiru glanced at a huge round table in the side of the room facing the imposing glass walls and noticed her mother sitting on one of the chairs surrounded by her own bodyguards. She walked over to her followed by Muro and Saiki and each one greeted the other with a hug.

"Where is your father?" Yuriko asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Michiru laughed and looked around. "I'm sure they're coming soon," she answered and locked her eyes on to the elevator doors.

"Michiru-chan," her mother suddenly called and all too soon, she stripped her eyes from the doors and to her mother's curious eyes.

"Yes?"

"I didn't get to ask you yesterday, but your actions sort of spoke for themselves," her mother stated cryptically. The violinist looked at her questioningly making her continue, "Well I'm only curious since only last week you were very uncomfortable with having a bodyguard follow you around. Yesterday, on the other hand, you and Tenoh-san seemed very comfortable with one another."

Michiru smiled uneasily. This was definitely _not_ what she wanted to talk about. She looked outside as her mother's questioning look that never wavered and shrugged rather weakly. "I was wrong about her. We talked it over and everything's okay now." Her mind berated her for making it sound so lame and sighed inwardly.

"I...see," Yuriko replied while raising an eyebrow.

Michiru decided to try again. "At first it was going as bad as the first day I met her. Then we got to know one another and just hit it off from there. Haruka's actually—

"Haruka?" her mother cut off, an amused and questioning smirk gracing her beautiful face.

The violinist felt her face flush. "Yes...Haruka..."

"No -san or even -chan? Just plain—

But her words were cut off as a loud roar emitted from the elevators. Coming out, adorned in crisp, clean suits and looking very handsome for their age, the President and Vice President of TWE along with the Board of Directors stepped out to be greeted by the clapping guests.

Michiru and Yuriko chose to stay in their seats as the two businessmen went around greeting everyone in their path. As they finally came to the huge, circular table, the two women stood up to hug the arriving men while the Board of Directors sat down, their families around them. Hokuto gave Michiru a smile as she greeted her Godfather and Ryu gave a look of boredom.

"Otou-san?" Michiru began asking as she gave a hug to her father. He gave her a warm smile as he awaited her question. "Where's—

But before she could get anymore words out, she felt a pair of hands grab her waist and was pulled away. She turned around to see a smirking Vice President as he whispered, "Haruka-chan would like for me to relay the message to you that she'll be slightly late, but wouldn't miss the party for the world."

A red tinge crossed through Michiru's face as she gave her Godfather a sheepish, but thankful smile. After the greetings and introductions passed, the kids, mainly Hokuto, Ryu, Michiru, and Takeshi, the quiet and serious son of Board of Director member Daiji Mei, positioned themselves on the table across their parents, not wanting to fall prey to boredom from all the business talk already accumulating at the big table.

After they gave their order to a waiter patiently standing next to the table, Ryu gave a look around and smiled rather sarcastically at the only Kaioh child. "I'm surprised Tenkousei is still not here with you. For the past week, you two seemed almost joined at the hip."

"Haruka's rather busy—

"Ho ho! Just Haruka now eh? The hell does that idiot have that I don't anyway?" Ryu spat and crossed his arms over his chest. "Thinking's he's all bad just 'cuz—

"_She_," Hokuto suddenly started, surprising both Ryu and Michiru by cutting the cocky boy off, "has breasts and is understanding to a girl's feelings."

Ryu's eyes widened like saucers. He looked at her for a couple seconds before sputtering out, "Tenoh's a...a..."

Hokuto rolled her eyes as Michiru giggled in amusement. "A girl?"

The boy's mouth dropped as he looked for a sign from the violinist telling him that they were orchestrating together to pull his leg, but she only gave him an amused, never wavering smile.

"Oh-my-God," he exclaimed in disbelief. "I got beat up and told by a freakin' girl?!"

"This girl also managed to keep you in your best behavior this whole week Tsuma-kun," Michiru brought up with twinkling eyes. "I must say, you're far more attractive when you're not opening your mouth."

Ryu gave her a scowl and looked away.

"How in the hell did you mistake a girl for a guy?" the usually reserved Takeshi asked next to him.

The other boy glared at him. "The same way that I can mistake you for a girl," he spat and gave him a cocky smirk.

Takeshi merely shrugged and looked at the two girls watching them battle it out. "Always so childish Tsuma-kun."

"Always everyone's dog Daiji-_kun._"

"This stops now," MIchiru called over them and gave them both a questioning look. "I know your dislike for each other run deep, but please don't do it over the food." And as she finished, their dinner arrived almost instantaneously.

"I apologize Kaioh-san," the polite one of the two stated and bowed his head to her as his food was given to him.

Ryu rolled his eyes. "_I apologize Kaioh-san_," he mocked and picked up his chopsticks. "Stupid ass kisser..."

Before he could put the food from his chopsticks to his mouth, a hand smacked him from the back of the head causing the food to not only smear against his nose and upper lip, but to drop on his suit as well. He pushed his chair back roughly and faced his attacker, a livid scowl grazing his features.

"What the hell is your prob—

He cut himself off as a pair of green eyes stared down at him, one yellow eyebrow going up in amused skepticism. The cocky boy gulped visibly as the First Commander of the DD smiled at him, not a trace of sorry or fear in her face.

"I leave for a day and your attitude is already back Tsuma-kun?" the blonde asked with fake exasperation.

Ryu coughed and looked away, a smiling Hokuto, intrigued Takeshi, and frozen Michiru staring at the two of them.

"Fortunately for you," Haruka continued, taking out a handkerchief from her blazer pocket and handing it to him, "I'm so busy tonight that I don't have time to berate you. I have other..." her eyes flickered over to the aqua haired girl across the table and looked back at Ryu, "...important matters to handle."

The boy before her merely nodded and took the handkerchief from her hands.

"Good evening Sumeragi-san, Daiji-san," she greeted at the two teens and went around the table to a still frozen violinist. She stood over her and gave a skeptical look. "Are you feeling okay?"

Almost immediately, the shorter girl came out of her stupor and gave a smile, standing up and favoring the blonde with a hug that surprised all the teens in the table, as well as an observing mother, father, and godfather from the next table.

Haruka smiled and hugged her back. "How was the rest of your day?" she asked while sitting down next to the shorter girl.

Michiru gave her, her full attention and pushed her still warm plate back, her appetite leaving her momentarily. "No change," she shrugged. "What about you? Did you finish...what you had to finish?"

Haruka gave a disarming smile and sighed. "Almost."

The violinist felt immediately put out. "Mou...I need protection too you know," she said while pouting.

Haruka chuckled and looked at the shorter girl's former bodyguards who were now around her superiors. "But that's what Saiki and Muro are for."

Michiru gave a harassed look and leaned her head against the blonde's shoulders. "I want you," she said softly and felt the blonde's body immediately straighten up.

From next to her, Hokuto coughed out loud, her face a full scarlet color and the two boys across from them stared with wide, bulging eyes.

Michiru sighed and stood up suddenly surprising the blonde and the other spectators on the table. "Let's walk around. Just you and me." Her voice held no room for dispute and before the tall girl could even respond, her dainty fingers had already encompassed the blonde's and was pulling her out of the chair.

"M-Michiru!" the blonde stuttered in surprise and let her body get dragged to the next table by the usually composed girl.

"Otou-san," she called, getting a surprised and rather amused look from the President of TWE. "I'm taking your subordinate out for a bit. Don't call regardless of the emergency."

Akira raised an eyebrow and noticed how his daughter was still holding an unsure Haruka's hand on her own. "Are you leaving the premises?" he asked, not really knowing what to say to his only daughter's request.

"We'll get to the limo safely Akira-san," Haruka replied, stepping in. "Nothing will happen to us. I'll make sure of it."

Akira nodded as Yuriko gave her daughter a questioning look and Kenro gave his adopted daughter a thumb's up and a grin.

Haruka shook her head in exasperation at the Vice President and walked to the elevator, following the beautiful violinist's lead. As the elevator door closed behind them, Michiru finally released Haruka's hands, but was surprised as the blonde's hold tightened. She smiled softly as they stood in perfect silence, the only sound coming from the reverberating noise emitted by the elevator. As they neared the first floor, the blonde turned to the shorter girl, gave an exasperated smile, and took out her cell phone. She speed dialed a number and momentarily spoke to the person in the other line.

"Kitagawa, is the media still in a frenzy? ...Aright, drive the Phantom to the front and wait for me and Michiru-san. I'll open the door, you drive out as soon as I close it. Clear? ...Yeah, we're almost there so hurry up." The blonde closed her phone and sighed.

Michiru only giggled next to her.

"They're crazy out there. If the entire DD wasn't present, Akira-san and Kenro-san would have never made it inside!"

"Oh, yes I could only imagine," Michiru replied with mirth. "I would understand what you're talking about if I didn't have thirty Unit Four DD members circling around me right when I stuck my right foot out of the limo I was in." Haruka coughed as the smaller girl chuckled and leaned onto her. "I appreciate the gesture Haruka...as suffocating as it was..."

"No one touched you in any way uncomfortable did they?" Haruka suddenly asked, frowning.

Her green eyes darkened a little as Michiru tilted her head to her side. "And what if someone did?"

"It was Saiki wasn't it? I'm gonna—

Michiru laughed and wrapped her arms around her frowning bodyguard. "Ara...are you jealous Haruka?"

"I'm not jealous!" the blonde puffed out indignantly. "...I just don't like it when other people look or touch you like that."

The violinist laughed louder causing her frown to grow bigger. "That would be jealousy Haruka..."

"Still—

The elevator door suddenly binged open causing both teens to let go of one another and step back. No matter how it looked like, they both had guilty expressions that caused some of the Unit Four bodyguards outside to look at them skeptically. Haruka was about to bark at them when the black Rolls Royce drove up the front.

"Let's go."

She grabbed Michiru's wrist and ran out of the elevator, surprised when the other girl was able to keep up. Before the media could even notice the President's daughter come out of the elevator, Haruka had already opened the door to the Phantom and had ushered the violinist in. She got in a second later and locked the door behind them.

"Driver?" Michiru called, surprising the blonde yet again. "Lake Hikari please."

The driver nodded obediently and drove away as the photographers began flocking in.

O-----O

If there was more lighting and the weather wasn't so cold and biting, Michiru would have thought the whole thing to be pretty romantic. Lake Hikari was bathed in the moonlight giving it an ethereal glow. Streetlamps were placed in the right spots aiding the moonlight in giving the whole park a serene feel, but it was just too cold. She felt the goose pimples run through her arms and berated herself silently for getting out of the tower so quickly that she forgot about the coat she discarded once she sat down with the other teenagers. Looking behind her for a certain blonde, she jumped in surprise as a black coat was placed over her shoulders. She smiled softly and hugged the coat closer, smelling the faint scent that could only be described as Haruka. All of the sudden, the whole park seemed a whole lot warmer.

"The weather's finally acting like it should this time of year," Haruka's low voice stated beside her.

They walked in companionable silence as the aqua haired girl nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty cold."

Not knowing what else to say or do, Michiru fidgeted around with the buttons of the taller girl's blazer. When she chanced a glance as to what the other was doing, she giggled in exasperation from seeing Haruka playing unsurely with her golden yellow tie.

Said girl looked at her in confusion as her laughter filled the silence between them. "What?" she asked, a smile gracing her features just from hearing the short girl beside her laughing.

"I'm just laughing because we're pretty bad at this," Michiru replied. Her chuckle subsided and the smile that took its place almost took Haruka's breath away. "We already know how the other feels—or hopefully what we think the other feels is what we think is right, and yet we're still here, beating around the bush."

Haruka gave a small smile at Michiru's words and looked down at her feet.

"Two days ago, you bared your soul to me," the shorter girl stated. Haruka looked at her questioningly as she continued, "You told me things about you that no one, save my father and godfather really know, and for that I thank you. So now, I feel that telling you about myself is sufficient payback."

"Michiru, you don't have to do that," Haruka said quickly.

The girl beside her only nodded. "I know. I also know that everything you know about me is very factual with numbers backing up each claim. Stuff like, at what age I did what or at what time I do things. Everything that you know about me has either been written for your needs or spoken by other people. I think it's about time that I tell you about things only _I_ could tell."

They looked at each other shortly, each with a serious face planted on her feature.

"I would really like that," Haruka stated shortly thereafter.

Michiru smiled and took her hand, leading her to the foot of a familiar looking tree. With the tree behind them and the sparkling, beautiful lake in front, Michiru took the blazer from her shoulders and laid it on the ground in front of the cherry tree. She gently pushed an observing blonde down onto it and when the tall girl finally sat comfortably with the tree behind her for support, Michiru followed suit and sat in front of her, right between her legs. She felt Haruka's body stiffen from her sudden actions, but gave it no heed and made to make herself even more comfortable by taking both of Haruka's hands from the side and draped it around her shoulders.

"Cold..."

She didn't need to say anymore. Almost instantly, Haruka's protective arms embraced her strongly, making her lean into her. The biting cold disappeared and in its place a comforting warmth, that no jacket or coat, as thick or expensive, could replace. In here, she felt she could open up without the thought of consequence or ridicule. Feeling that it was the perfect moment to start, Michiru did so, opening her mind to a memory from long ago.

"When I just turned six, I have this vivid memory that I can't forget." Her voice was calm, reassuring, her eyes fixed solely on the water before them as if she could see what's playing in her mind's eye on the surface of the lake. "It was my birthday and despite all the kids that were there, I felt very lonely because I didn't know any of them. In the middle of it, I decided to ditch my own party and just go in my room. At that time, Otou-san's company was already highly successful so the party was at the Estate and all of their co-workers who had kids were present. I didn't really know any of them so I felt the solitude of my room was more favorable than a stupid party that was supposedly for me."

Haruka couldn't see the other girl's eyes because of their current position, but felt the sadness that was laced in her every word. She hugged her tighter in reflex as Michiru let her body be caved in by the other's strong arms.

"It was only five minutes since I had left my party and already someone went barging in my room. At first I thought it was one of my parents until this crop of short blonde hair came jumping on my bed."

"Yumi," Haruka guessed.

Michiru nodded, feeling a lump suddenly grow in her throat. "We were still so young, but I remember us being very understanding of one another's feelings. She understood why I was holing myself up in my room and didn't ask any questions. All she did was keep jumping on my bed until it annoyed me so much that I threw one of my pillows at her." A sort of hollow laugh emanated from her mouth, her heart clenching at the thought of the deceased girl. "Of course that ensued a pillow fight, but by the end of it, I was more happier in my bedroom with her than I've been all day at the party."

Her voice by this time had cracked as an overwhelming sadness overcame her. She turned her head to face Haruka's and despite the smile that graced from her face, small teardrops began making their way from her sparkling blue eyes to her cheeks, her body following momentarily by wracking in silent sobs. Haruka could do nothing but hold her tighter.

_How long had she kept this in?_ Haruka clenched her jaw as she could only watch the girl before her crying in pain. It dawned on her that all of the girl's talents, all the things she was capable of doing so well was only achieved after the death of her surrogate father's child. It was her escape route from feeling: her overachievement in painting, swimming, playing the violin, everything that she could do exceptionally. They were alike in that aspect. After her pact with Kenro, in order to escape from always feeling the sadness from losing her parents, she would also immerse herself in her tasks. Crying was not an option.

Getting to that realization, Michiru suddenly faced her, her expression mixed with determination and sadness.

"Regardless of how young we were," she continued, her voice steely and forced. "I trusted Yumi wholeheartedly. When she said she would always be there for me— that she would protect me for as long as I needed protection, I believed her wholeheartedly. She was my only true friend until I met you and she...she..."

All the suppressed anger from all the years bubbled up and Michiru finally let it all out by breaking down, pounding on the taller girl's shoulders. Haruka only hugged her tighter knowing full well that she needed to let it out.

"Michiru—

"You can't die on me too Haruka!"

Wide green eyes looked back at sparkling blue ones as Michiru's silent words hung over them, her real fear evident and showing.

"You mean much more to me than the only real friend I've ever had ever meant to me. I don't know what I would do if—

Her words stopped abruptly as the tall girl's soft lips pressed against hers. Immediately she repositioned herself and swung her arms around the other's neck, pressing her lips closer. Inside the arms of the girl she loved after opening up her darkest fears, the kiss they shared meant more than just a first real kiss. It was a testament of protection and especially of love. She will open herself up for this girl and only for her.

AN: Well that was hella much more dramatic than everyone thought it'd be huh? Sorry if I got people overly excited about saying the word "smooching" only for them to kiss just once XD. A couple chapters ago, Michiru's train of thought was running along what was explained here more and yeah…I just wanted to point out that the basis of who she is and who she's made herself doesn't necessarily center on what happened to Yumi, but is a catalyst of it. The next chappy is gonna be as long as what I've made you guys used to…probably gonna be 7k words so yah…look forward to it. The stuff happening in TWE should wrap up by then and it's off to sealing the deal on H&M's relationship. As for the tally on my "surprise skillz" XD People who didn't know: 11 VS People who did: 3 VS People who sorta did: 3. HUZZAH! I have surprise skillzZzzzzZ. XD sorry pardon the dorkiness. OoOo These little polls are pretty fun….XD Aight I think that's all for this chappy…sorry it seemed so end of the weekday. I will most likely post chapter 14 this weekend…probably Sunday or something like that. Thank you again for the all time high reviews…I'm in review heaven. OH and by the way…yes I realize Michiru doesn't know about Haruka being the sniper…so yeah…just warning people about that )

Heatqueen: Hehe why thank you. I'm glad you appreciate the mini intrigue.

Reusch: I've wanted people to suspect Kenro for some reason or another knowing that he's probably going to be the most loved OC. Glad I surprised you and the next chapter should keep you reading longer than these last couple ones I've updated.

Hunter007: Ahh thank you for taking the time to read what goes on in my head )

Ja-fall2pieces: hehe thank you for the wonderful comments. I hope this chapter was good enough (I dunno…whenever I update it's a sadomasochistic kind of feeling…I want to see what the reviews say, but at the same time it's sorta foreboding…so I tend to either not want to update for the sake of losing readers or not want to check in my email to see what people may have flamed me about xD) I feel like this chapter is one of those…I feel kinda discontent but at the same time I can't add anymore to make me content…and I'm sorry if I just all of the sudden tell u all my life's problems in this little one sided convo XD. And Haruka never really came up w/ better word responses, but actions speak louder right?

Sakura blossoms4: heh I'll never not give more XD

DreamingOfMyGirl: OMG ur review reminded me of my "confession" to my gf -.- yes…I will vouch for the fact that love makes you say/do/act stupid (things). And Haruka's not immune to it hahaha.

Wolvesorrow: hehe I'm glad I did enough back story for people to nod and say, "Yeah…Haruka could pull that off huh?" And the envelope?? Hahahah what has Kenro been blackmailing Haruka w/ this whole time? ;D

Cybeleflame: XD I promised action and I'm sorry if the delivery sucked. I noticed it a long time ago, but the romance genre…so isn't my forte…T.T I'll update again this weekend seeing as I sorta slacked on this one. I'll see you then. And Michiru's reaction when she finds out about the whole thing? Let's just say I hope I do better in the drama genre than romance.

Knightlight: Yes way!! XD Glad I could offer a little surprise.

BleuFleur: Heh well it's never too late to review XD. Ty for taking the time to do it and I'm glad my story has been has been able to brighten you up. To tell you the truth I expected more people to know it considering the first chapter's information, but I also wanted to tweak the story so much that some would have doubts. It apparently worked.

Agent-Ayu: Heh, you were one of the ones I suspected to know it! Well you went into the 1 of 3 people who had sorta thought of it XD

Mantaray: hehe one of the ones who got it. Grats! Grats! Hmm never seen city hunters but I'm glad that bit of info supplied enough suspicion for mine. And I hope the fanservice is good enough XD. If I were in ur shoes though I'd probably throw something at me hahaha.

Smartieox: Another one who got it…yes…I was expecting u to cuz u analyze my story to its fullest extent so grats to u too. Huzzah for not failing readers!! I like it when u guys say that…can u tell I don't take criticism all too well?? XD Michiru knowing…everyone has some explaining to do heheh.

RaginFireDesire: XD glad you liked the surprises. And I love Haruka's dual personality.

RogueRobin: Ahh you've found my biggest Achilles' Heel… tenses. I hate tenses…they screw me up…XD You know if you really want to go back and fix stuff I don't mind it. I'll take it as a compliment and thank you for taking the time on doing something that you don't have to. –bow- Thank you for the wonderful compliments…all the things that you'd edit will be gladly put up by me.

Kaikuduo: hehe I'm glad you like it and that you spot why Haruka could. Thanks for reading.

Jenn: Heh I know how that is. My imagination's so vivid that reading literally does take me away so yeah…after a hard day's work or even when my mind's numb at school, reading's one of the things that I look forward to doing….these days though all I do is fry my brain w/ video games XD

Thepillows93: Sadistic Haruka equals Sexy Haruka so yes…more of her is a two thumbs up XD. Heh and thank you for leaving a review last chappy anyway…short/ long, constructive/commentive (so not another word, but I wanted it to rhyme) I won't say it's all the same to me cuz it's not, but all is appreciated nonetheless. Thank you for taking the time and actually review.

MilenaOne: Yay thanks for saying my surprise skillzz (don't mind the extra z's…) are good! Hehe and I know it's a joke about the shorty chappies but when I read I like long novel-ish stories too so I know where you're coming from.

Haruka's Knight: Hehe yah..in most cases I give up wondering and just let the story take me too. Sometimes it doesn't go off real well since it ends up in a place I don't want it to coughHarryPottercough but we can forget about it after a while XD. Yeah didn't wanna throw off the story w/ the different Harukas you threw up there. But u know…if u wanna talk after the story XD hit me up. I don't mind it…I certainly won't think ur weird or anything…but man..these one sided convos are hella fun XD. And zomg..u need to be more careful at work…30 foot ladder…that's like..life threatening O.O

RachelAe: Hehe, I'm glad you like the two Harukas shown. I guess in my opinion on it, it's sorta stemmed from how she is as a normal person and as a soldier, especially in Super season. Who she was as the girl the Inners knew (cool, confident, but overall nice) in comparison to Uranus (gotta kill three people to save the world, doesn't really matter who it is in the end)…the dynamic sorta works like that. I'm glad her different personalities didn't make you stray XD. As for the security around Kawa, I'd just like to say that it was his idea to steal that much money from TWE not anyone else in the side he's being a mole for so yah…the fact that he had little to no security was entirely his fault since the people he's working with didn't know until after the fact.

Thenightwithin: hehe and it ends up they ditch the party hahaha. I'm glad it was worth waiting for and I'll see u the next time we have a one sided convo XD.

On one last note, no ja-fall2pieces, I did not forget to tell you what my gender is BUT I wanna play another poll game! XD –shrug- I just wanna know who thinks I'm a guy and who thinks I'm a girl that's all…if you don't wanna say that's fine too :D. See you guys next time…and I'll tell my gender next chappy either way XD


	14. The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Chapter 14: The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men…

"Hmm, did the media get bored?" Michiru asked as the Phantom neared the tower.

From beside her, Haruka sat up higher to take a look and felt the other girl's hand on hers tighten.

"Well Kenro-san was raving about how annoyed he was because of them," Haruka answered and gave a small shrug. "He probably made them leave if anything."

The violinist leaned into her as Haruka hugged her tighter.

"Speaking of which," the blonde started, resting her chin on the small shoulders before her. "About your parents..."

Michiru involuntarily shivered and had an unsure look on her face.

"Do you think they'll..."

"Approve?" Michiru finished.

Haruka nodded and made the same face.

"I...don't know..." She looked at the blonde who was now sporting a nervous look. "Who are you more scared of?"

"Your mother." The answer was so quick that the violinist had to laugh. "No, really Michiru! Akira-san...well the worst he could do is probably fire me since Kenro-san can stop him from doing anything else. Your mother, on the other hand... let's just say she seems like she wears the pants in the relationship..."

Michiru laughed even harder, nodding in agreement as she did so. "Oh yes... she does..."

"Oh great," the blonde sighed in exasperation. "I'm all nervous now... We don't really have to tell them you know..."

"Oh yes we do Haruka," the shorter girl stated firmly. "I was never a good liar... you know that already. It would be better for us to say it than it is for them to find out for themselves."

Just the thought of her parents' reactions to someone else telling them of her current orientation was enough to give her goose bumps.

True to Michiru's words earlier, the entryway to Tokyo Tower was devoid of any photographers, newscasters, or cameramen. The heavy security nonetheless remained, patrolling the perimeter. Another car was parked in front of the walkway as the Phantom parked closely behind it. Next to it, Hokuto stood, apparently waiting for someone.

Michiru looked back at Haruka as her arms loosened around her waist and gave her a peck on the lips before opening the door of the car.

Kitagawa, their driver, wolf whistled loudly as the only Kaioh child exited the car. "Way to go Commander!"

Haruka shot a venomous look his way and muttered, "If that goes out of the car, you're dead."

The man gave a wicked grin before saluting. "Hear you loud and clear!"

The blonde rolled her eyes as she exited the car as well, slamming the door behind her. She signaled the incoming Unit Four bodyguards to not surround the only Kaioh child as she approached Hokuto, knowing how it unnerved her earlier. She made to go towards them when her phone rang, stopping her from her tracks.

"Pick that up," Michiru called, turning halfway towards her. "I'll just talk to Hokuto-chan. She was waiting for us to return so..."

Nodding her head, Haruka turned around to look at the Caller's ID. Apparently, Tatsuki had finally cracked Kawa's shell. Smirking, she pressed the answer button and asked, "Tatsuki-san, how are things going?"

"Commander?!" a panicky Tatsuki answered from the other line.

Haruka noted his distressed voice and frowned. "What is it? What did he tell you?"

"Sumeragi-san is a part of it."

"S-Sumeragi…"

Haruka's eyes widened as she dropped her cell phone. She turned around in time to see Michiru getting pulled into the Sumeragi limousine with Hokuto still standing outside.

"Stop them!" she yelled at the standing Unit Four bodyguards and grabbed her handgun from her leg.

Immediately without fail, the whole of Unit Four surrounded the limo, firearms directed towards the still vehicle. Running up to the limo, Haruka shoved a shocked Hokuto aside and pulled the car door open to no avail. Her heart pounded from within her chest. Inside, through the tinted windows, she saw a view that made her blood boil: Toriyama, sporting a serious face, held Michiru by the shoulders and had a gun pointed at her right temple and Sumeragi Yuu, the Chief of the Board of Directors sat beside them, wearing a very calm smile.

Sumeragi Yuu looked a lot like his daughter with short, jet black, middle parted hair and black mesmerizing eyes. He wore a white three piece suit with a red tie and alligator skin, white, leather dress shoes. He was a thin looking man and was about Akira's height. He was seated comfortably on the leather seats of the limo and had his legs crossed and palms neatly folded in front of him. Haruka did not see him though. All she saw was the frightened look upon her ward's face.

_No! _she yelled in her thoughts. _Michiru's just not my ward anymore! _"Toriyama!" she screamed and gripped her fingers into the glass. "This is between you and me! Leave Michiru out of it!"

When her rival made no move or showed zero expression as to what she just said, something snapped within her.

"Toriyama!!!" Instantly, her fists balled and almost immediately thereafter began pounding the bullet proof tinted windows. She couldn't feel the pain in her fist, nor hear the sound of the dull thud it made as it pounded against thick glass. All she saw were the pair of sapphire eyes, widening in fright, large teardrops cascading from them and into red, rosy cheeks.

When she felt that her fists would not do, she growled in frustration, swung her handgun in front of her, and in the direction of where Toriyama's head would be, fired. She didn't stop when the glass caught one bullet. She just kept pulling the trigger, straight at where the unflinching man sat.

She was snapped out of her frenzy when the gun clicked in her hand signaling the casing to be empty. Her breaths came out in quick succession as she dropped her gun feeling completely powerless for the first time in a very long time. In front of her, more tears cascaded from the violinist's face.

_I told her I'd protect her, _her mind uttered weakly. _I'm here, standing only five feet from her... and yet I can't do anything..._

Feeling the hate coursing back in her system she clenched her teeth as she once again gripped her fingers into the glass. But before another bout of berserk could hit her, a loud shrill of a cell phone ring tone rang through the surprisingly silent air. She recognized it a second later to be hers and a random bodyguard ran to where she stood earlier, picked the phone off the ground, ran back, and gave it to her.

She looked at the Caller's ID and gritted her teeth. "Give her back," she stated darkly. In a couple seconds she knew she would again lose all composure. In her frenzied state she didn't even realize the whole thing was on speaker.

"I don't think I can do that Commander Tenoh," Sumeragi's voice transmitted over the line.

"Haruka!" a frightened Michiru called out as well. Her composure had once again left her.

"Give her back!" she repeated, now yelling. She punched the window viciously, but again to no avail.

"Commander, don't make me repeat myself," Sumeragi stated edgily.

Haruka frowned darkly and clenched her jaw, her breaths coming out in rough successions. She suddenly turned around, grabbed a handgun from the hand of a bodyguard, and pointed it at the face of a frightened Hokuto who was being held in place by another guard.

"If you think that I'll have any qualms in killing your daughter," Haruka stated frozenly, pulling the safety off. "You better think again."

"Commander," the middle aged man called, with no hint of worry in his voice. "Trust me when I say that the well being of my daughter is, as of now, the last thing on my mind."

Haruka glared at the wide eyes of her love's classmate, her view getting blurrier and blurrier by the second and the gun before her beginning to shake uncontrollably in her tightly closed fist. She felt a huge lump gather in her throat as a teardrop trailed from one of her eyes and into her cheeks. The pain in her heart ached. How foolish had she been to think that coming back into the party, with unresolved matters in her hands, that everything between them is going to be alright? That the biggest problem was the acceptance of Michiru's parents?

_How could I let my guard down?_

Forgetting that the phone was still held tightly against her ears, she was surprised to hear Sumeragi's voice. "Listen closely for I will only direct this once. This limo will head to Red Sun Technologies. At that time, I will not condone anyone following us except you Commander, the President, and Vice President. When Kaioh-san and Morimoto-san come out of the tower, which should be any time now, you will direct them to the backseat of the Phantom you were just riding and you will drive the car. You will follow us and once we get to the front of RST, there will be many guards there. Each of you will present your firearms to the guards and they will be taken from your possession. Afterwards you will be escorted further into the building. When you get to the desired meeting place, we can start making deals regarding the current situation. Do I have your understanding Commander?"

"Tell him we understand."

Glancing to her right side, Haruka saw Akira's solemn face, his left hand, visible from the sling, balled into a fist. To her left stood the Vice President, quiet and still.

"Glad to see you finally joined the party Kaioh-sama," Sumeragi's voice gleefully called out. "We'll see you in a bit then... and please... no funny business during and after the ride. We wouldn't want further...casualties..."

The phone went dead soon after and the limo's engine roared to life bringing Haruka to once again come out of her depression and anger induced stupor as the limo drove off. She made to run to the Phantom to follow the exact directions Sumeragi made when a hand shot up and caught her wrist.

Angry tear drops fell from her eyes as she turned around wildly to face a stony President of TWE.

"Akira-san, let's go!" she gritted through her teeth. What the hell were they just standing around for? _Michiru could be...In those men's hands, anything could happen to her! _"Michiru—

"I know full well of the situation regarding my daughter Haruka-chan," Akira steely stated. In his eyes was a dark gleam that Haruka had never, in her years of working for him, ever seen. "Your thought process is very irrational right now and I understand that, but for the sake of Michiru-chan, I would appreciate it if you became the ruthless commander you were before my daughter changed that."

Haruka looked at him surprisingly. What was he talking about? "Wha—

"Back at Kawa-san's apartment, you made a decision that was very...uncharacteristic of you. The commander I knew, prior to all of this, would have gone through with just cutting the forearm of the traitor rather than going through what could've set us back."

"Akira-san—

"I'm not reprimanding you Haruka-chan," the aqua haired man replied, his voice surprisingly gentle. "I'm just asking you to be that same commander one last time for Michiru-chan's sake."

Haruka felt numb. Has she changed that much? Giving herself a chance to look back on her actions, she found that what her superior said was true. In that situation, she wouldn't have made petty threats. She would've just _shown_ Kawa the loophole! Even miss the celebratory party altogether to play the interrogator.

Haruka sighed and took the handkerchief from her surrogate father's outstretched hand. She quickly wiped her eyes with them, stashed it into her pocket and looked at the phone in her left hand. She reminded herself that this was all going as planned. A little hitch made some more complications, but it will be settled.

Michiru's scared expression crossed her mind again as Akira stated cryptically, "You know what to do."

She nodded and with determination punched the number three on the number pad.

"Yes?" a low voice answered from the other line.

"It's Sumeragi and RST. I trust you can set up everything before Kaioh-san, Morimoto-san, and I reach RST's base."

"Of course."

She hung up momentarily and adopted her "Iceman" face. "Let's go."

Kenro's stone face suddenly turned into a smirk as he swung his arm around the blonde's shoulders. "This is going to be fun, fun, fun."

Akira gave a small smile at the kiddy face his partner wore and turned to a grief stricken, too quiet Yuriko. He placed his hands on her cheeks and said softly, "Whatever happens I promise you that Michi-chan will not be harmed."

She nodded vigorously and hugged him tightly.

Returning the hug, he turned to the nearest bodyguard and ordered, "Take my wife to the estate and guard her with your life."

"Sir?" Saiki called from behind his sobbing wife. "What about—

"Sumeragi's directions will be followed. No one will follow us to RST."

"On another note," Haruka stated, just one beat after her superior, "Broadcast to all units to get ready. Tell them we're under Operation History. All of the members who were told prior information should know what I'm addressing about. Those who don't are to stay in the premises of TWE and of course, at Kaioh-san's side."

Saiki nodded obediently as Akira and Yuriko separated.

Shortly afterwards, all three headed to the Phantom, bodyguards opening the doors for them quickly. As told, both Haruka's superiors seated in the back and Haruka positioned herself in the driver's seat. After all the doors closed, Haruka turned the car on and slowly, calmly drove out of Tokyo Tower's perimeters and towards the Red Sun Technologies building.

Kenro sighed loudly and took out the Desert Eagle from his back. He tossed it nonchalantly on the floor and combed his fingers into his short, jet black hair. "Sumeragi..." He shook his head exasperatedly making Akira laugh softly.

"You owe me—

"I know!" he cried, sounding harassed.

Haruka smirked as she watched them from the rearview mirror. Seeing the calm exterior of her superiors' faces could do nothing, but alleviate her nerves.

_They know what they're doing...of course they would._

"Haruka-chan, you okay down there?" Akira's voice asked, taking her out of her thoughts.

She stopped at a red light and looked back at the short haired man's face from the mirror.

"Yes, Akira-san," she answered, nodding in the process.

He smiled at her softly, wrinkles showing at the edges of his eyes. "You're never alone in this. I hope you know that."

"I know sir," she answered quickly.

"And don't go blaming yourself about what happened too," Kenro bellowed, crossing his arms across his chest.

Haruka looked away and opted to look in front of her at the busy intersection.

"We mean it Haruka-chan," Akira added seriously. "Everyone's entitled to making mistakes."

"Michiru's in RST's hands because of me," Haruka grunted, feeling disgusted with herself. "I told her I'd protect her and when it really counted I—

"You performed admirably," her ward's father cut off. "Tell me, how does your hand feel?"

Haruka frowned at the question and flexed both her hand's fingers, feeling the pain immediately shoot out of her right one. She gritted her teeth in order to keep any sound from coming out and looked at the men behind her fleetingly.

"You've gone beyond the call of duty Haruka-chan…as you've always done," Akira continued, seeing the pain in his subordinate's eyes. "Let's get Michi-chan back quickly so you girls can finally tell us what's been on your mind."

Haruka's eyes widened as a blush spread through her face.

Kenro laughed loudly and slapped his legs. "Oh, I can't wait for that! And, no Haruka-chan, I did _not_ tell Akira anything. Both of you are rather... obvious..."

"No we are not!" Haruka puffed out indignantly.

"As if ditching a party that was supposedly very dangerous wasn't obvious enough," her surrogate father quipped.

"We're here," the blonde stated tersely, shooting daggers at the widely grinning man.

Next to him, Akira smiled softly, took the gun from the sides of his shin and dropped it on the floor next to the Desert Eagle. Haruka followed their actions and dropped the handgun she had taken from one of the bodyguards earlier next to their guns as well.

The doors from all sides opened as tall men in dark suits came into view to greet them.

"Get out of the car slowly," the one nearest ordered in a low voice.

Kenro smirked widely and stepped out. Standing, he was about as bulky as the other man and definitely as tall. He gave the suited man a bored look and lifted his arms.

"I don't swing that way so if I find anyone copping a feel I won't hesitate to kick balls." The man in front of him looked at him with wide eyes, his hands halfway into frisking the Vice President.

"Now, now Kenro," Akira stated softly from behind. "They're just doing their jobs."

Kenro's smirk only widened. "I wonder if RST ever came out with an original idea of their own?" he asked out loud as the black suited, red tied man before him began searching him for any hidden weapons.

The guard in front of him stopped momentarily and reached into his pants pocket, taking out a pair of brass knuckles.

Kenro laughed brashly. "Oh that? Sorry, I couldn't help myself. It was reserved for Sumeragi."

Haruka from beside him shook her head exasperatedly and raised her arms up to be searched. Akira only laughed.

They were carrying three cell phones each, Akira stating the obvious that they would have already called the proper authorities ages ago if they truly wanted to. One of the higher ranked guards gave the go ahead for them to keep as well as a tiny gadget in Akira's pocket.

"It's just a projector," Kenro muttered and sighed loudly. "Why would we want to blow up a room that has all three of us as well as the girl that we've come for? Come on! Be real for Christ's sakes..."

After the three incidents, they were all deemed weapon free and were soon escorted to the inside of the building. The first floor was strictly decorated in gold. All around them gold statues, pillars, and decorations adorned the floor and Kenro couldn't help, but mutter something about compensating for things the RST CEO was missing. Some of the eight bodyguards around them coughed loudly as they were led into an elevator.

The wait for the elevator to move up to the desired floor was nerve wracking for the blonde. She was dying to see Michiru. Her well being. Her safety. Her...

_If they did anything o her..._

Her hands balled into fists automatically, not minding the pain emanating from her right hand. She felt a hand ruffle through her hair and looked at the nonchalant expression Kenro made beside her.

"Quit straining your hand," he reprimanded softly. "Michiru-chan's okay."

She nodded and obediently loosened her muscles. Her surrogate father untied his tie from his collar and before she could protest, wrapped the silky black tie around her now puffy, red knuckles. As he finished by securing it in a knot, the blonde smiled up at him.

"Thank you."

He smiled back at her good naturedly and ruffled her hair some more.

The door finally binged open causing all three of them to straighten up. A bodyguard came out first and they all followed right after into a door that led into a circular room.

More than half of the room was covered by glass windows giving a great view of the night life of Tokyo. Two tables, both a semicircular shape, stood in both sides of the room, the curved sides facing each other and the straight sides adorning high back, executive leather chairs.

Straight ahead, each with a bodyguard behind them sat Sumeragi Yuu, Seito Kira, Kaioh Michiru, and Toriyama Syusuke. Five more bodyguards littered each side making the bodyguard count, including the ones following the higher ups of TWE, at twenty two.

Haruka stopped in her tracks momentarily to look at Michiru. Other than her disheveled appearance and blood shot eyes, she seemed calm. What angered Haruka most was the gag across her mouth and the binds at her wrists and ankles. They locked eyes and she gave a reassuring smile.

_You damn right everything'll be okay, _she thought dangerously. She shot a look at the man in the middle, Seito Kira.

He was a tall, wiry man, with thin square rimmed glasses atop his long, thin nose. His hair was a sandy brown, short and almost gray like. Adorned on his body was an expensive three piece suit and a glittering gold tie that almost made the blonde snicker from remembering her surrogate father's words earlier in the first floor. He sat on his chair with his legs crossed, a smug look across his almost ugly face.

"Welcome Kaioh-san, Morimoto-san, and..." He leaned into his right side where Sumeragi sat and listened to the other man's words momentarily. A second later, he continued, "Commander Tenoh-san. Thank you for finding some time in your very busy schedule to immerse us in your presence."

Kenro rolled his eyes and sat in the executive chair to the farthest right. Akira sat on the middle following the Vice President and Haruka sat down last on Akira's left side.

"Take the gag off my daughter." Akira's voice was loud, commanding, something Seito was not expecting.

He sat back on his high chair and stared directly at the aqua haired man's eyes. After a moment, he broke eye contact and looked at Toriyama. He gave a small nod and the gag was immediately taken off.

Michiru made a small noise as the gag was taken out of her mouth roughly and looked at her father imploringly before chancing a glance at her stone faced bodyguard.

"So what now Seito?" Akira asked, dropping the honorifics altogether and propped his chin on his right hand.

"Ahh," Seito sighed, perking up. "That's the three trillion yen question isn't it? What... now?"

Kenro sighed agitatedly. "This is an all time low even for you. We are very busy people. If money's all you want—

"Money doesn't even scratch the surface," Sumeragi spoke up, venom in his every word. His calm exterior earlier was gone and instead, pure spite took its place. Seito raised his hand up to stop him, but the other man only shook his head vigorously. "You took someone important form me and now, I'll take someone important from you!"

"Ahh, is that why you're here Yuu-kun? An eye for an eye?" Akira asked eyeing him momentarily.

Sumeragi stood a little straighter, confusion ringing on his face. "You... you knew?'

Akira gave a small glance at the direction of the blonde causing her to speak out. "You real name is Li Jyung Soon. You lived in North Korea until you were twenty seven, then somehow moved to South Korea with your daughter, Li Haneul. For the next one and a half years, both of you adamantly learned Japanese. When your daughter turned fourteen and you turned thirty-nine, you immigrated to Japan and started climbing the corporate ladder of TWE after changing your names to Sumeragi Yuu and Sumeragi Hokuto."

Sumeragi's eyes bulged as his once hidden information spilled out from Haruka's lips.

"The reason for your actions today is primitive. Your brother, Li Choi, was a North Korean soldier charged with severe war crimes and was sent to Death Row in the South Korean POW Prison Facility. A month in and he and a few of his fellow soldiers managed to control the Death Row section in which, after a few hours, myself, as well as a few more soldiers infiltrated and took down every single prisoner. He was one of the many soldiers that I killed during that task and you are merely here to avenge his death." She spoke clearly and concisely, her voice never wavering.

This calm exterior seemed to be the breaking point Sumeragi needed as he blew up in anger.

"You little bitch! You killed my brother and fess up to it in that voice?!" He grabbed the gun sitting in front of him and pointed it at the unflinching First Commander.

"Sit down Sumeragi-kun!" Seito yelled over him.

Sumeragi stood in the same position for a couple more seconds before slamming his gun on the table. "When I get my hands on you, I'll make you suffer tremendously," he stated darkly, gulping down his intent to kill.

Haruka crossed her arms and looked at him calmly. "You may want to stand in line for that Sumeragi-kun. I can feel Toriyama already stabbing me with his eyes."

Said man frowned at his rival's words, but made no motion to say anything.

"Okay, so Sumeragi's here because he's bent on revenge, Toriyama is as well because of his discontent in his commandership role and Kawa was just money hungry," Kenro stated, counting them up with his fingers. "Why are you the mastermind Seito? And please, don't say something along the lines of you being sick of always being second next to TWE because if that is the reason why you put my Goddaughter through this, I'll show you why you're always second."

Seito was taken aback by the sudden threat and laughed momentarily. "Are _you_ threatening me Morimoto?"

Kenro only chose to roll his eyes at the question.

Not deciding to let it go, Seito raved, "You are in the premises of my company. Here, no one can hear you scream, no one can see you pleading for mercy, no one can save you." He bared his teeth as he locked eyes with the Vice President. "Don't make fake threats to me under the roof of my company unless you want this girl," he grabbed Michiru's hair into his fist causing the girl to cry out in pain, "to feel my wrath. You _will _watch your mouth."

At his action, all three superiors of TWE stood up in anger and from that, all the bodyguards surrounding them pointed their guns in their direction. Seito smirked wickedly, letting Michiru's aqua curls fall from his fingertips.

"Don't-touch-her," Haruka gritted through clenched teeth.

Michiru's pain filled eyes looked back at her, almost like a silent plea to take her away from this place that she did not belong to.

"Or what Tenoh?" Sumeragi yelled. He got up from his chair and walked over to the frightened violinist.

"Yuu-kun, if you touch my daughter, it will be the last thing you'll ever do," Akira stated darkly.

The tension in the air was thick, suffocating—Akira's foreboding words adding trepidation. Sumeragi's steps slowed only for a moment, digesting his former superior's statement before walking normally again stopping when he reached the high back chair Michiru was currently sitting on.

"I see neither you nor Toriyama had learned yet that crossing me is a huge mistake." Still standing, Akira reached into his jacket pocket causing some of the guards to click the safety of their guns off. What he took out was not something anyone in front of him expected, except the few who frisked him earlier.

"This," he stated, putting the small gadget in the table, "is a new projector that TWE will come out with in a few months. It is the size of a cell phone and it'll be used as a form of entertainment. Hook an electronic device to it—an external hard drive, mp3 player, anything—and the image would be projected outward to any wall, enabling it to even go as far and wide as a theatre projection."

Confusion immediately rang out in the faces of all three men in front of Akira.

"So what?" Seito asked in ridicule, fearing that the stress overload had finally done his aqua haired rival in, as well as eyeing the new gadget, chastising himself for not thinking of it sooner.

Acting as if he didn't hear the question Akira continued on, "One of the coolest things this gadget can do is hook up to a phone via USB cable. Call someone up who has this same gadget and by using the camera option in the cellphone, you can communicate by using the phone to talk and the projector to see one another."

Failing to see what the point was and afraid that Akira really had lost it so much that he was actually trying to sell them a TWE invented item, Seito could only look at him dumbly as he took Haruka's phone and connected it to the mini projector.

"We have no intentions to run so please get out of that wall's way," the President stated to the two bodyguards directly behind him.

They looked at him in confusion and then to a bewildered RST CEO and moved away once he nodded at their unspoken question.

Akira acted as if he could care less about what they thought of his mental well being at the present moment and plugged the power cord in the nearest outlet.

"Now, before we get the show started, let me ask you both a question." The statement was clearly spoken to his former employees who perked up after he gave them his attention. "Do you really think we think came over here, in no man's land, without a well thought out plan?"

"Sumeragi, Toriyama," Kenro called this time, making the perplexed men turn their attention to him instead of the President. "And, of course, Seito...you already know how important family is to us. The real three trillion yen question is...how much do yours mean to you?"

All three's eyes widened as the projector behind them turned on, the image easily viewed because of the darkness provided by the night and dimly lit lights. The moving image shown before the three co-conspirators almost turned their complexions into ghostly hues.

Surrounded by heavily armed, bulky, and very dangerous looking men were the closest people that mattered to the three very silent men.

"In case any of you forgot what they looked like or can't tell because of their disheveled features," Kenro continued, taking the phone from Akira's outstretched hand. "Toriyama, this is Kawa Sora."

The projector image zoomed into a badly beaten, very bloody, but definitely still breathing Kawa.

"Almost four years ago at the start of the DD, you recommended Kawa-san at the tender age of fifteen. No, Toriyama, it did not go by unnoticed by us that after the death of your only living relative, that you were the chosen godfather for her only son and that you spent every day off you had with him-- taking him to the mall, buying him clothes, giving him toys, and even spending Father and Son Sports Day with him at his school."

Toriyama's face turned into a frighteningly pale white as his eyes remained glued at the wall sized projection behind his old employers. The projector's image changed quickly and was now focused on two elderly looking people and a crying and sobbing Hokuto in the old woman's arms.

"Let them go," Sumeragi ordered through gritted teeth.

Kenro ignored him and said, "Do you remember these people Sumeragi? You haven't seen them in a while, but I hope you still remember your parents. I also hope that their well being is much more important to you than you claim your daughter's was."

At his choice of mocking words, Sumeragi drove for his gun, yet again, and aimed it at Kenro who only rolled his eyes.

"Put that down. I'm not done yet," he stated boredly. Not heeding the man anymore attention, he turned to Seito who had now gone deathly white. "Last, but not least, Seito."

The image changed again, this time to two women, one obviously being Michiru's classmate Megumi and a middle aged woman, Seito's wife. They were seated in a sofa, looking up, every now and then at the looming figures of the bodyguards around them.

"As hypocritical as this is, especially coming from me, when you do go home from work, Seito, this is who you would find at home: your wife and daughter. At first, I was against your family being taken because I would know of all people how it feels like to lose the two most important girls in your life... but I knew you weren't going to bestow that privilege to me, so I decided, to hell with it! Grab the daughter and the wife too!"

The room was suddenly bathed in stillness, the three men looking at the image projected behind the superiors of TWE, while they began taking their seats back.

Out of the three, Seito's face was the palest. Then, as if a bright idea suddenly dawned upon him, he gave a wide smile that seemed to scream that he had gotten a lot of his composure back.

"What would you say about RST taking care of a little problem of yours then?" He smirked extensively, inwardly smacking himself for not thinking it sooner and showing them how scared he was.

The President of TWE looked on passively as Kenro growled beside him, "What the hell are you on about?"

"The sniping," the thin man stated. "Someone out there hates you more than I do and according to Toriyama-kun, you have yet to find them. Add RST's database with TWE's and we can find out—

"That Haruka-chan did it," Kenro cut off, smiling rather smugly.

The three men before them including Michiru widened their eyes. Simultaneously Seito turned to Toriyama, anger boiling off of him.

"Why wasn't I told about this?!" he seethed.

The built man frowned. "I considered Tenoh to be a possible suspect because of her absence that night. If you didn't hear me or took my words into consideration, it's your fault, not mine."

The CEO of RST abruptly stood up, his hands balled into white fists. He turned to Toriyama with a look of pure rage in his face as the brunette man stared back at him defiantly.

"Nothing brightens my day more than the internal combustion of a group who seemed so sure of themselves prior to when we entered the room."

Seito turned to the talking Vice President, his look of anger dissipating and in its place an apologetic and pleading one.

"So it's quite obvious that we have a deal to do," Akira stated stopping anymore bickering that could've restarted.

Seito was first to react, his eyes never leaving the wall. "Fine," he replied stiffly. "Let go of my daughter and wife and I'll let you leave the premises unharmed."

At this, Haruka quickly shook her head making her two superiors smile. "No deal."

"This does not concern you, stupid girl!" the CEO yelled roughly.

In response, Haruka snapped her fingers citing fifteen of the twenty two guards around them to point their guns away from the TWE employers and to the unmoving guards next to them or the RST employers in front of them. Sumeragi stared widely at the Commander of TWE as a gun was pressed directly at the back of his head. Two TWE guards from behind Haruka, Kenro, and Akira took familiar looking guns from their backs and gave them each their weapons back, including the pair of brass knuckles.

"Thanks to your amazing view, DD members who were told of this operation's start prior from our entering the building have gathered on all surrounding buildings and are quite aware of what's going on," Haruka replied, quite put out about being reprimanded, yet again, by someone who shouldn't have been. "At my given notice they will storm this building in three different locations: your rooftop where dozens of helicopters are flying overhead by now, by ground through your front door, or by swinging themselves from the adjacent buildings right to this room.

"You can call for additional backup if you like, but I'll warn you now that doing so is futile. Because of Toriyama's great disdain for us since the start, RST's more than competitive nature, Sumeragi's past issues, and further suspicions of other Board of Director members, a plan like this has been thought over since almost the start of RST's DD. Almost seventy five percent of your Defense Division are Unit Two Espionage members working completely and loyally under us.

So the only option all of you have now is to go with the flow that these bodyguards will set. Everyone should make it alive in one piece if there's no struggle... otherwise, Plan B will go into full effect, and trust me, Seito-_san, _as of now, I could care less if this whole building crushes you. If it were up to me, which it technically is, I would make you pay for all the troubles you've caused to all parties involved tonight."

At the end of Haruka's explanation of the past and their current position, as well as her very real sounding threat, all RST employers were baffled into silence. Seito looked at all the guns pointed at him or at his real bodyguards' heads and gulped. He not suspecting this was a definite understatement.

Haruka nodded her head slightly signaling the TWE guards to take action. The ones pointing their guns at RST guards snatched the gun pointing still at their superiors and gave them a quick frisk before making them lie face down on the ground, hands at the back of their heads. This procedure was done repeatedly, all seven RST guards on the ground after less than a minute passed and their superiors surrounded shortly thereafter.

"Sir, please drop your weapon," one of the Unit two members ordered as he and a few more bodyguards pointed their guns at Sumeragi.

The Board of Director member shook from anger, the gun pointing at Haruka's direction until another bodyguard moved to the front of it, blocking the blonde completely. Another guard grasped the gun held by a numb Toriyama and took it out of his grasp, while yet another frisked the CEO and came out empty handed. In a matter of seconds, the tide had completely been turned. All three sported a look of disbelief or anger at the calm visages of the superiors of TWE as Haruka stepped forward to a too quiet Michiru and helped her from her binds.

"Are you alright?" the blonde asked as she finished her task and locked eyes with the other girl.

Michiru remained quiet for a second and then turned her eyes away from her bodyguard's, to the sling her father still wore, and lastly into the projector screen behind them. She stared at Hokuto's crying and confused face, at a frowning Megumi and her mother, and most importantly at the very bloody face of Kawa Sora.

"Are they?"

Haruka's eyes widened at the hint of anger laced in her ward's question. Feeling that she had to give her explanation for such drastic measures and to clean up any misunderstanding in the air, she stated, "It was necessary to—

"No, it wasn't." She was cut off very quickly, Michiru looking away as she did so, rubbing her wrists where the binds had managed to scratch her.

"Michiru—

"It makes me sick," the violinist declared looking at her. "That all of this was necessary. And for what? For me and the rest of their family to just be pawns in it? To—to see how all of you really are just for the sake of your pride or money?'

Disappointment, anger, and disbelief coursed through Michiru's affirmation as Haruka contemplated on explaining more.

"You were never meant to be harmed through all of this—

"But you were more than willing to kidnap their families just in case."

"It was a safety precaution!" Haruka now yelled. Why couldn't she make her understand? "If they didn't drag you into this we wouldn't have had to play our cards this way! Did they spare you any kindness? Did they not hurt you—

"Well I guess it is an eye for an eye then," Michiru quipped, coming back at the hysterical blonde quickly.

They stared at each other challengingly, Haruka's two superiors and every other person in that room eyeing them silently.

"We would not have hurt them," Haruka gritted through her teeth, her patience dwindling by the second. "That is the difference."

Michiru raised one of her eyebrows questioningly and nodded at the bruised and bloody face of the former Unit Three Bodyguard.

Haruka turned to what she was looking at and grunted in aggravation. "Those who directly crossed us were harmed, but those secondary to them would not have been, regardless of what would have happened here. The truth of the matter is, it was just a petty threat!"

"So I guess if you had no clue what was going on, get kidnapped by men twice your size, and put in some room with even more men, this time with big guns in your face, you'd be okay, as long as you won't get harmed? No, you won't get affected by it afterwards because—

"That's not it!" Haruka replied edgily

"Then what is it Haruka?" the other girl asked, crossing her arms around her as she did so.

She was lost. What the hell had happened? Everything was going according to plan, but now this? Haruka scratched her head roughly in annoyance as she gave the smaller girl a confused, sad look.

"Don't you trust me?"

The violinist looked at her exasperatedly as she replied, "I wouldn't dare think you'd go this far! Do you realize the grief you've putting a lot of families through…including my own? Did you think about me or my mother when it was decided for you to shoot my father?"

"What was all that then?" Michiru gave an asking glance as Haruka looked away from her accusing look and opted to instead look at the beautiful scenery, her face troubled, battling with herself whether or not she should continue. She swallowed hard and looked again at a still defiantly questioning Michiru. "Where's all that talk about family and not caring what I have or will do?"

The shorter girl looked away, her attention again at the projector and as if automatic, flitting to her father's shoulder. Her anger and disbelief swallowed the pain her heart was emitting as she again looked at the sadistic scenes before her eyes. _Without the assistance of your father, Kenro-san and in certain occasions, even Toriyama, I create the plans, strategies, and overall operation procedures. As the Commander, that's my job. _Michiru shut her eyes and after a few seconds looked back at Haruka's troubled face.

"It doesn't help much that I just noticed how I know nothing about the real you."

Haruka's eyes widened in shock as the words spilled forth from Michiru's mouth.

"Michi-chan," Akira called from behind, feeling that it was passed time to intervene.

The violinist looked at Haruka's shocked face and sighed defeated. "Just... get me out of here."

She stood there for only a second before brushing past Haruka and without another word to anyone else, left the room with a few bodyguards trailing after her.

AN: Wowzah…was that a cliffy? I'm not sure…-shrug- if it was I haven't given you guys one in the entire story and this is a good place to start if anywhere. :D Hmm…do I have to explain anything? Well…for anyone who doesn't know the beginning saying of the chapter title "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"…it means just that. That no matter how great you plan something, something's gonna go wrong and RST's plan definitely failed and in restrospect, so did Haruka's. –sigh- just when their relationship finally turned right huh? Of course this part of the story was told in a completely third person view except afterwards when the two teens' feelings were being shown so just like Michiru you guys don't exactly know how well planned Haruka's operation actually went. I'll explain it in further detail next chapter via conversations between characters and show that it wasn't as sadistic as it seemed. Alright…with that said I can finally say that all OC's are introduced…hahahah. Damn…well I told you guys in the beginning it was gonna be a lot.

RaginFireDesire: Thank you. Glad you liked it.

Smartieox: hahaha –sigh- yes…I knew the little action would aggravate someone. It never fails to…I'm glad it's you too…cuz u'll say it hahahaha. And see? I did update like I said I would…goddamn instance took so long it's five o'clock in the morning right now and I'm updating like I said I would. :D And about me being a girl, you are one out of three I think?? Who guessed…and you can scroll at the bottom to see if you're right. By the way…what is this difference between girl and guy writing?? I have yet to find out XD. As for the extra fanservice…I promise you'll get your share…but you'll have to wait cuz right now…the relationship's a little rocky :D

Agent-Ayu: I think with all the circumstances that happened in that room, it was just too much for Michiru to handle all at once…and seeing that it wasn't Haruka that divulged that information (as well as not being able to explain it a little further) I felt that her feelings for the whole thing is justifiable as what I wrote for her to feel this chapter. Hope you liked it either way.

Knightlight: hahaha NO WAY TWO WHOLE DAYS?? XD glad I did get to update…else you guys would want my head cuz then you'd wait THREE WHOLE DAYS xD. j/k

Heatqueen: Huzzah for kissing scenes right? And the slow-mo kisses…hahaha…I don't think I can write slow-mo kisses…although you did pretty nicely there.

Sakura blossoms4: Heh if you like how I ended it last chapter…how do you like this one?

Reusch: hehe well…hmm is this long enough?? It's a little longer than the ones I've been posting recently so hopefully it is. Funny how my chappies are so different huh? The last one as you said had overwhelming sense of happiness…this one…I can't say the same…

Cybeleflame: Heh well thank you…Uncaring for the consequences Michiru rocks.

Shinata-Riyoko: Heh thank you for the kind words. The slow build up finally reached its climax though huh? Would this be the climax…I don't really know myself…

LitaDelacour: Hahaha it's funny how I basically read the entire review somehow feeling like I've read it somewhere before…hahaha I'm just joking. Thank you and I'm glad you liked that whole part…I actually love it when someone quotes from my story…it feels…nice…XD

Bound Dragon: Heh…updating!

RachelAe: heh oh ---- is right…sorry my gf made me quit saying bad four letter and of course the one bad five letter words a long time ago…(The ones in the story do not count since…I don't know why, but they just don't). Heh and we got one saying I'm a guy. I think there's one more around here… XD

Jenn: Hehe I have a laptop so I sit where I'll be sleeping…it's a nice arrangement. Sit, play, sleep…and sometimes…update before sleep.

Dragonknight23: Heh you're welcome. School's fine right now…sorta gonna be busy this week seeing as I have my first exam so I won't promise a soon enough update…but I probably will in the weekend. If I can sometime in the weekday I'll try.

Hunter007: She really missed her XD And guys not writing like this?? Someone MUST explain me the difference…I don't care where…send me a private message if you don't wanna add it to your review…but I must know this difference. XD

Ja-fall2pieces: zomg…your compliments are too nice –blush-. I guess I'm just an overall pessimist. I try not to think something's too good in the hopes of making it better or just as a cushion in case someone says otherwise…it's been drilled into me and I wasn't referring to anyone as a flamer (everyone's actually very supportive and kind so thank you). Just to copy some old quote, "It's not you it's me…" XD And once again…the difference… guy and girl authors XD I laughed every time someone said that…"Guys don't write like this, girls do" so someone enlighten me and tell me the difference!! XD

So let's see…three said girl and one said guy?? I'll tell a story regarding my gender cuz it cracks me up…Aight I was heading to gym class and of course you'd normally have to change in your gym clothes for gym class so everyone goes in the locker rooms first to change. I enter the locker room and this girl that was about to leave stares at me for the longest time…and about a minute later starts shouting at the top of her lungs, "Teacher! Teacher! There's a guy in the girl's bathroom!!" So of course one of the female gym teachers who reside in the small office near the lockers come running to where we were…by that time I started walking to my locker and she was looking around panic stricken and she looked at me for a second and sighed, probably in relief. I greeted, "Good morning Ms. " and she says "Good morning" and goes back to her office. HAHAHAHAHA. It was funny as hell…still remember it so vividly. At first glance a lot of people mistake me for a guy…people that don't know me probably still think I really am a guy…but like Haruka I'm a tomboy at heart…hate wearing dresses and even more-so make up or anything of that kind. Thanks for listening to my story XD Apparently I'm more easily distinguishable in writing than in person.

On one last note FFN sux...If my AN says that I wanted this out by Sunday morning and it wasn't delivered...it's FFN's fault...not mine. Stupid document wouldn't upload yesterday no matter what I did...stayed up 'til 5:30 too -.- Apparently it's better now 'cuz it finally let me update...


	15. The Aftermath

Chapter 15: The Aftermath

Beads of sweat ran repeatedly down her face and into her soaked shirt. Her breathing came in short intervals, arms pumping at her sides, and legs simultaneously moving forward in a never ending run—rubber to rubber. The machines around her were dead save for the one she was on. It was nighttime again as depicted by the view all around her. The city looked as beautiful as it was yesterday.

When she saw disappointed eyes.

When she was rewarded with Michiru's back to her.

_"I guess it doesn't help much that I just noticed how I know nothing about the real you."_

The lump in her throat served to maker her run faster, the reverberating sound of the thread mill heightening as her feet pounded roughly against the rubber. In this state of concentrating only on her bodily functions, she could ignore the lump in her throat, the painful throb in her heart, and the pitiful feeling in her stomach. She could only feel numb… and she was more than alright with that.

"Haruka-chan?"

She could hear Kenro's voice, but chose to ignore him. She just wanted to be alone, why couldn't he see that? She heard him sigh as he walked directly in front of the thread mill, their eyes almost gaining contact until she opted to look over his head.

Kenro sighed again as he leaned on the glass wall, putting his hands in his pants pockets casually. He looked over his daughter's tired figure, most notably her bloodshot eyes.

"Look Haruka-chan—

"What's the final verdict?" Her voice was collected, emotionless, and a little strained, but only due to the lack of oxygen in her lungs.

Kenro frowned at her question for a moment before fully understanding it. "I don't think that's important right now—

"Well I think it is," Haruka cut off, not minding her manners and still not looking at him in the eye.

The Vice President looked at her sadly for a moment before looking away. "Seito gave in to the deal. Half of RST's assets are now TWE's. It's all going to be under the table so nothing's ever going to be made official. He agreed on the fake title and total scrutiny until he dies. Toriyama's given Commander post of RST's DD under the circumstance of him being always and completely under you as well as being held in close observation, much like Seito, and lastly Sumeragi is given the choice of going back to Korea or maintain as an employer of RST's Executive Branch. Of course, he will also be under close observation until he dies. Very…lenient given the circumstances and what we can and have dished out in the past concerning traitors among our company.

"Now…on to more important things," he turned his head back to look at the still running blonde. "How are you?"

Haruka sighed loudly and pulled the power key off of the thread mill, making it stop slowly under her. She grabbed a towel sitting on the machine's handle and slowly wiped the sweat pouring from her hair to her face. Her legs felt rubbery, the tingly feeling from the bottom of her feet marching to her shins. When she looked back up to a still observing Kenro she gave a small shrug as a reply and began walking slowly away. Kenro followed not a moment after.

"I'm thinking of visiting my parents," Haruka replied, smiling wryly. Kenro remained quiet next to her as they reached the elevator doors and she pushed the down button. "It's been a while since I visited due to the whole fiasco and I miss them. Tomorrow. I'll be going early and coming back late, so don't wait for me."

Kenro nodded quietly as the elevator door opened. Haruka stepped inside and held on to the door, eyeing her surrogate father momentarily. "The immediate threat has passed so have someone remove all my things from Kaioh-san's condominium as well as file an immediate withdrawal from Mugen." She gave a wry smile as she removed her hand away from the sensors. "Mission complete."

The elevator door shut close.

O-----O-----O-----O-----O

She hadn't gone to school for the past couple of days. She didn't really have a reason other than the fact that she felt too numb. She tried swimming, but it only reminded her of the picture her father had sent her of Undercover-Swimsuit-Model-Haruka the morning they came back from her cousin's. Playing the violin failed to soothe her nerves too. The only songs she could compose were solemn and morose, completely showing the emotions she wanted to keep from the outside world. Painting was even more out of the question for she could only paint the woman that's been on her mind for the past couple of days.

Her confused eyes. Her stony face. Her defeated figure.

She sighed outwardly and cradled her head on her crossed arms, titling it to the side to get a better view of the pouring rain decimating the world outside.

Her phone had been ringing incessantly, but none of the voicemails belonged to the one she wanted to talk to the most.

"Kaioh-san, this is Fukui Sanada again. When you get this please call me as soon as you get in. It's very important so please call me. I will talk to you later."

_Click. Beep._

"Michi-chan, answer you phone please. Don't make me and your father come over there! _Silence._ Just please talk to us, dear. We're worried about you."

_Click. Beep._

Michiru sighed and dug her head deeper into her arms, her eyes beginning to sting wildly. For the first time in a long time she felt alone. Utterly and completely alone. As she always wanted to be, but in a time when it was the last thing she wanted to feel. Her insides were hollow, calling out for some sort of peace and happiness and her mind was filled with only one image. She closed her eyes as a teardrop finally crossed down her face. Wanting to take her mind out of the image gracing the back of her eyelids, the night after the incident flew in instead.

That night, she couldn't find solace or isolation even if it was the thing she wanted the most; her father had followed her home. She didn't feel as if they had anything to talk about, but as he stood in her front door devoid of any bodyguards, she knew that this was his genuine self wanting a conversation—a simple father-daughter talk even if it should have been anything, but.

She had let him in instead of closing the door and going to bed; she just wanted to forget the all too vivid details that had just occurred.

They sat down on the white leather sofas facing one another, the President looking at her with the same forlorn look she sported.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

The question almost made her laugh. Instead she kept it in and looked away, opting to not answer what seemed like a rhetorical question.

"Michi-chan—

"Does Okaa-san know?" she stopped looking at things to the right of him and locked eyes with him instead, her look of defiance coming back.

Akira sighed. "I'll be going home to speak with her right after this."

"So it really was just you, Oji-san, and Haruka who knew…"

The aqua haired man sighed again, deeper and heavier this time. "In the long run it wouldn't have been safe for either you or your mother to know. I debated it…really I have. And I know that you'll say that it was very extreme, what Kenro, Haruka-chan and I had to do, but—

"Is this who you really are? All of you?" Michiru's hurt and confused expression was all Akira's guilt needed to peak at its highest.

"Michi—

"I feel like I've just gotten to know you," she said softly. "And although I can say that you're like a stranger to me right now, you're still my father, Kenro Oji-san's still my Godfather, and Haruka…" She trailed softly, teardrops beginning to formulate around her eyes. "Because of you all are, I'll be able to forgive you…but not right now. I need time. I need to think, I need to breathe."

Akira looked at his daughter sadly and nodded, hesitant. He stood up from his seat and walked over to her, knelt, and embraced her like he used to when she was still a child and needed the comforting touch of a parent. He faced her afterwards and cupped her cheeks with both of his hands. "I'm sorry."

Michiru swallowed the pain accumulating and was forced to look away from his, the teardrops beginning to fall and the look of betrayal going along with it.

"I never meant for all of this to happen. You and your mother are the innocent ones here—bystanders. I didn't want you caught up in my own problems because of who you both are and who we are as a family. I messed up. I didn't look at all the loopholes—I didn't fill all of it in. Consequentially you both got hurt and I'm paying for that now. But it was all me. Blame _me_ for it."

He wiped the tears flowing freely from his daughter's eyes and crumbled from the guilt of his actions. He hugged her tightly again, kissing her forehead as he did so and felt her hug him back fiercely, moisture accumulating quickly on his shirt.

They stayed that way in calm silence, a sob or two breaking it every now and then and when Michiru finally began pulling back, Akira looked at her again with the same pools of deep blue.

"I'll be going now, okay?" She nodded at him and sniffled in reflex. "Please talk to me again when you've cooled off, but more importantly, talk to Haruka-chan. It's not fair for her to carry the burden that's supposed to be on Kenro's and my shoulders."

She had wanted to talk to her to begin with. But as she stated earlier, she did need time to digest everything. It bothered her even more than the knowledge of what Haruka had done in the past because it happened right in front of her. She just needed more time.

But apparently she had waited too long.

The morning two days after the incident, a knock issued from her door causing all happiness to swell in her. The empty, lonely feeling of being in complete self-isolation the day before left her and in her mind she pictured an angry blonde bodyguard come in through the door, her green eyes sparkling fiercely and her questions coming in shouts. She pictured her asking what the hell was wrong with her, why she said what she said a couple nights ago and if she thought that she was going to back down easily. She pictured Haruka pushing her into one of the walls, locking her there firmly with her body and tell her every bit of info about herself so that she knew the real her, whether it was a week that passed by or a millennia.

But instead of one lone blonde bodyguard at her door, there were three burly men, sporting the black suit and silky white tie. One of them gave her a polite smile, explaining that they were there to collect Commander Tenoh's belongings and that it would only take them a few minutes to do so.

She could only nod numbly, walking back to her room afterwards, and locking herself in, feeling even more empty as each second passed and everything that was Haruka was taken from her life. What was stopping her then from going to her then? Nothing. Nothing was stopping her. But she still stayed, hoping for two things to happen: either for Haruka to come to her or for her to get enough nerve to go to said blonde. Neither of the two circumstances had yet happened and she was beginning to lose hope that they ever would.

She sniffed loudly as the phone rang out again. She wiped some more tears from her eyes and cheeks and looked up tot the direction of the phone as the answering machine took it.

"Michiru-chan?"

Her eyes widened as she quickly made her way to the phone. Stumbling none too gracefully, she finally made it to the other side of the room and picked up the cold receiver.

"Hello? Hokuto-chan?"

"Michiru-chan!" Hokuto called loudly from the other line.

"How are you?" Michiru asked suddenly panicking. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine Michiru-chan," Hokuto replied warmly. "How about you? I mean, I wanted to give you a couple days to regroup so I didn't call you sooner, but—

"No! Don't…I—I'm fine… I'm more worried about your well being actually…"

"I'm…fine to tell you the truth," the dark haired girl stated quietly. "But the phone seems impersonal. You weren't at school again today so I couldn't talk to you. Why don't we meet up somewhere?"

Michiru smiled, glad that one of her only friends was fine despite the chaos that they were all involved in only a short while ago. "Sounds good. Where to?"

"Java Lava? It's in the Delta—

"I'll meet you there."

"K, see you in a while."

O-----O

It took her a good fifteen minutes to get ready, a new personal record in her book. When she got to Java Lava, a quaint little café overlooking the Delta, Hokuto was already seated in one of the tables waiting for her. She got up when she saw the violinist at the door and they hugged briefly before sitting down. They ordered their drinks and waited until the waiter was out of earshot before beginning their conversation.

"It's sort of surreal isn't it? Sitting here nonchalantly after all…that?" Hokuto started, looked up and noticed her friend's bloodshot eyes.

Michiru nodded quietly, playing with the napkin before her. She looked at Hokuto's sad expression and smiled softly. "Sumeragi-san—

"Is an idiot," Hokuto cut off darkly. She looked away, an angry expression gracing her normally pleasant face. "I still can't believe what he did. I've always questioned his motives: why we left Korea, why we had to change our names, why everything had to be kept in secret, why he started working for a corporate ladder business when he's more of an entrepreneur. Everything was brought to light two days ago, and it just makes me sick."

Michiru chose to remain silent, knowing that the other girl really needed to let her feelings out.

"He's my father, but to stoop that low for someone he knew was wrong, and endangering lives in the process…including mine…" The serious young girl's eyes clouded briefly as she kept her contact to the still waters around them. "Frankly speaking, I'm surprised he's not dead."

The cool way she said this made Michiru look at her in surprise.

"Ever since we moved to Japan he already had it planned. I was surprised when he told me to befriend you, a person I didn't even know. He explained everything there was to know about you: your age, your hobbies, where you go to school and he used all that knowledge to get me to befriend you just for the sole purpose of making you his trump card. Because he knew Akira Oji-san's only weakness was his family…and getting Yuriko Oba-san was harder than you. I thought everything was for our family's best interest. That he wanted me to befriend you for a more solid spot in the company…not for some petty revenge that my uncle probably deserved."

She was quiet for a brief moment, still not meeting the violinist's eyes. Both of them waited for the waiter to serve their drinks as he finally came along and as he left, the dark haired girl gave a great sigh and sipped her steaming mug of coffee.

"Two days ago…when Tenoh-san had that gun to my face, I seriously thought that my father would come out of the car and wrestle the gun out of her hands. You'd think that he would because he "loves" his family so much. But I heard him from Tenoh-san's phone… saying that he didn't care what happened to me." A tear finally escaped out of her eye as she wiped it quickly with a napkin. "I hate him. Him and his past that he just couldn't let go of." She sighed loudly again and finally looked at a quiet Michiru across from her. She gave a small wry smile and gave a shrug. "Guess some things will never change."

The violinist returned her wry smile as she sipped her tea. She looked at Hokuto questioningly before putting her cup down. "What happened…after we drove off?"

Hokuto squinted her eyes for a moment, as if trying to recall the events and then spoke softly, "Your father, Morimoto-san, and Tenoh-san went after you a couple minutes after you left. Tenoh-san gave the go ahead for an operation to start… apparently they were very much aware of what to do given the randomness of the situation and I was taken out of Tokyo Towers' premises to a room inside TWE. I was afraid at first because of what my father did and after seeing one of the people there on a bed, a bloody mess I was just hysterical. One of the guards came and actually comforted me…saying that everything's going to be alright and at first I didn't believe him until my grandparents came.

"I knew they were there without the knowledge of my father and I immediately suspected it was your father's doing. When I asked them what they were doing there they said something to the extent of winning some random prize in the mail and getting a free trip to Japan…something crazy that would never happen in a normal circumstance. The plane was free, the expensive hotel suite was free, and they really wanted to visit me and my father so they decided, why not? Their plane touched down that same night and TWE guards were there to escort them, saying that they would take them to me and my father…regardless of the situation.

"If my father was behind the apparent smuggling…something I came to know after asking the guards, your father with the help of my parents could convince my father of stopping and returning the lost currency. If he wasn't behind the smuggling we would be able see my grandparents as a surprise job bonus."

Michiru nodded in understanding before Hokuto continued.

"I must admit it was very thought out. The guards were very lenient with using the lavatories or anything we needed and I had to leave the room for a bit after meeting my grandparents. A couple rooms away were the rest of the Board of Director's families. I saw Tsuma-kun, Daiji-kun, their families, as well as the families of Gouta-san and Aozou-san. They were very comfortable to say the least. They weren't fully aware of the situation, but they understood that they had to stay there for protective reasons and it seemed like the party was moved from the Towers to that room.

"When I got back to the room I was originally in, Seito-san and her daughter were already there under the pretense that the Seito estate was being targeted. Some of the people there were actually RST guards which surprised me a little, but from the way they interacted with the TWE guards, I suspected they were undercover for TWE. When I asked about the bloody guy in the corner, they explained that he was one of the guards in the Seito estate that was hurt during the so-called forced entry. Other than that…everything was fine."

Michiru nodded, looking at the calm waters. "So no one was hurt or scared?"

Hokuto shook her head. "Seito was being overdramatic about it, saying she actually heard someone trying to get into the window of her bedroom but I just rolled my eyes at it. Her bedroom's in the fourth floor of the estate for heaven's sakes…"

Michiru gave a small laugh as Hokuto rolled her eyes at her statement. After a small while of drinking Hokuto looked up to Michiru and gave an apologetic smile.

"Whatever it was that happened to you in that limo and afterwards…wherever it was that my father took you, I apologize for it."

The aqua haired girl felt the sincerity in the other girl's voice and shook her head, a small smile gracing her beautiful features. "None of it was your fault…so you apologizing for it is completely uncalled for. The whole thing just made my blood boil. Seeing all of you in that small room with all the heavily armed guards around you—

"What?"

Michiru looked at her and explained, "I was taken to RST. Your father, Toriyama-san, and Seito-san were all there. Apparently they were the mastermind of the whole smuggling fiasco and the bloody guy in the corner, as you put it, was a part of it too. They had to get information out of him regarding who was behind it…guess that's why he was so bloody. My father brought a small projector with him showing your father and his coworkers who they had in that room you were in as the only means of settling the deal. From first glance, it would seem that all of you were kidnapped. There were armed men all around you, you were crying, there was a bloody guy in the corner…so of course Seito-san, Sumeragi-san, and Toriyama-san all thought of it as the worst case scenario. Someone in that room was important to each of them and from the way Kenro Oji-san was explaining it, it seemed like all of you were kidnapped…being held there only by means of a scare tactic."

"Did _you_ think that?"

Michiru sighed, her shoulders dropping simultaneously. She rubbed her temples fiercely with her fingers and groaned. "I wasn't told any of the details…so of course I thought it. I was so sickened afterwards of what my father, uncle, and Haruka were capable of doing that I didn't ask. I just…blew up. I assumed that they had stooped as low as RST and had people's families involved in it."

"But they didn't," Hokuto replied. "No one knew the exact situation except me and afterwards my grandparents. I spoke in Korean so no one else could understand us. The Seito's were misled to think that they were safer in that room than anywhere and the guy was knocked out in the corner so no one felt as if they were in danger. On the contrary…we were pretty much protected."

Michiru groaned even louder and rubbed her tired eyes roughly. When she looked back up to Hokuto, the other girl saw the most defeated look she's ever seen from the usually determined girl.

"I messed up…"

Hokuto placed her hand on top of Michiru's comfortingly and asked, "This doesn't have anything to do with Tenoh-san does it?"

Michiru looked away, not saying anything and causing the other girl to sigh.

"You haven't been in school for the past couple days so you wouldn't know. I actually went just so I could get distracted, but… Tenoh-san is no longer part of the class."

Michiru's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up at Hokuto, her stomach plummeting.

The dark haired girl gave a sad look and continued, "No one was given the specifics. Just that she decided to drop and that was it. It wasn't even her that announced it—just our homeroom teacher. It happened yesterday…first thing in the morning."

Michiru looked down at her tea, her vision clouding heavily. Her heart throbbed tremendously and the lump in her throat served to make her breathe heavily.

Haruka was gone. All trace of her had disappeared from Michiru's life. In a week she was given a bodyguard, a friend, a best friend, and a lover and in a matter of days, she was left again in square one feeling more alone than ever. A tear escaped her eyes causing Hokuto to stand up and sit on the chair beside her, hugging her tightly in silence.

She laid her head on the other girl's shoulders and cried silently wishing that she could rewind time to that night.

"I don't know what exactly happened," Hokuto stated in a small voice, making Michiru raise her head a little higher from her tear soaked shirt, "but you should really speak to Tenoh-san again… to clear any misconceptions."

Michiru nodded absentmindedly and raised her head from Hokuto's shoulders, wiping her eyes as she did so. They made direct eye contact as Hokuto smiled at her and gave her a handkerchief.

"Hmm, I've got to hand it to her though… I have never seen you look at anyone else like that before seeing that you literally hated her when you first met her." Hokuto smirked as a harassed look came over Michiru's rosy face.

"I did NOT hate her…" the violinist replied a small smile gracing her face as she reminisced what happened that day. She looked over at Hokuto's smiling face and hugged her. "Thank you. I'm glad you're okay despite everything that happened."

Hokuto hugged her back. "Go to her. Don't wait any longer than you already have."

Michiru nodded and got up, putting some bills on the table as she did so. "What're you planning on doing now?"

"Well, my grandparents practically disowned my father after finding out what he did. I think he's decided to stay here in Japan since there's nothing for him in Korea any longer, but as for me… I'm going to stay here. Nothing's going to stop me from living normally despite the fact that I have an evil father," Hokuto replied with a shrug. "Your father made it clear to him what the consequences were of maintaining contact with me during their conference so I'm not afraid of him at all. Don't worry about me. Worry about your current problems and fix them and maybe we can go on a double date afterwards or something."

Michiru blushed at the proclaimed statement as Hokuto gave a knowing smirk and began pushing her away from the table.

"Shoo! Don't you have better things to do than stay here all day?"

The violinist smiled widely and waved to her as she left the café.

O-----O

Figuring that her uncle would be the only person to know where Haruka was, she decided to visit him first, seeing as a phone call seemed impersonal and she missed his dorkiness. She arrived at her condominium and called the ride service that was stationed at her father's office. After waiting in the lobby for fifteen or so minutes, her ride appeared in the usual Rolls Royce Phantom. The ride took no less than ten minutes and after thanking the driver, she got out and stood at the base of TWE.

When she got inside the building, the receptionist saw her and immediately recognized her. She gave her the go ahead to take an elevator to go to either superiors' office which she took to go to the vice president's floor. When the elevator door opened, a dashing looking young man gave her a smile before she entered, swiping the keycard as she got inside.

Silence filled the entire elevator as it pulled them up to their desired floors and sooner than later, the man next to her gave a small cough and stated, "You here for a job interview?" Michiru looked sideways at him and gave a questioning glance. He gave her a flirtatious smile as he continued, "Well you're not wearing the usual dress code so I was wondering if you were here on a job interview or if it's your first day. I could show you around…maybe even take you out for lunch."

Michiru giggled inwardly at what Haruka would say to him if she was by her side at the moment, but opted instead to shake her head until the elevator opened to four burly Unit Four bodyguards. The man next to her immediately stiffened, bowing to them as they stood rooted to their spot eyeing him down. When their eyes drifted simultaneously to the violinist one gave a small cough and all of them bowed instantly.

"Good afternoon Kaioh-san," one of them greeted, his face still facing the ground.

Michiru gave a little smile and bowed in greeting as well.

"Are you here to visit your father?"

Each one of them entered the spacious elevator, but the one who greeted maintained the only conversation.

Michiru shook her head and answered, "I'll probably visit him too, but I'm here to visit Kenro Oji-san more."

He nodded in understanding. "We're heading that way to relieve the bodyguards from the day shift, so we'll escort you there."

The short girl bowed gratefully. "I would appreciate that."

At the thirty fifth floor the man who first engaged in a conversation with her left hurriedly when the door opened, his ears splotchy and red. Not a minute later, they arrived at their destination: the front of Kenro's office.

"He should be inside. Don't be shy and just go in. I'm sure he won't mind," the same bodyguard from the elevator stated as the ones stationed near the door to Kenro's office bowed to her.

She nodded gratefully, knocked once and went in.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Kenro's voice boomed loudly in his very glassy office. "Alright, I'll say it so bluntly that you'll think I'm just being mean but in reality I'm being real. I think the design sucks. I think only RST would ever accept a design like that so fix it. 'Cuz hell'll freeze over before I'll even glance at it again. Fix it or I'll fire you—

"Oji-san?" Michiru cut off uneasily.

Kenro looked up from the papers piling on his table and looked surprisingly at his goddaughter. "Oh…Michiru-chan…No I'm not talking to you! Is your name Michiru? God fix this…or else." With that he hung up the phone and looked at the violinist coming up to him, shaking her head in exasperation in the process. "What?? You'd think these people don't have Ph. D's in engineering or something…"

They hugged briefly before Michiru took the seat across from him and for a moment, all was silent until Kenro rearranged the stack of papers in front of him and looked at his goddaughter warmly.

"I'm guessing you're not here to chastise me about my employer to employee skills," he said, a small smirk gracing his features.

Michiru shook her head, again in exasperation, and smiled at her godfather. "I was wondering if Haruka was here actually. I need to have a talk with her."

The smile slid off of Kenro's face as he recalled his daughter's overworked form on the thread mill just a night back. "No, actually she won't be working for a while I think. I mean, it's technically up to her because she doesn't have to, but she needs to regroup since a big operation just finished. She of all people needs a sabbatical."

Michiru nodded in agreement feeling ashamed just by meeting eyes with her godfather. "Where is she now? At her condo? Vacationing?"

"At her parents'." This small statement caused a small grimace in Kenro's hardened features.

The violinist looked down sadly at her hands and twisted them about uncomfortably.

"Michiru-chan…the words spoken a couple nights back was out of shock and anger more than anything," Kenro started, leaning back against his chair and staring at his goddaughter evenly. "I know you didn't mean what you said at the conclusion of it and I know deep inside Haruka-chan knows too. That's why if I tell you her location, you have to promise me that you'll make it all better. Haruka-chan can't and won't do it. _You_ rejected her. Not the other way around."

Michiru's stomach gave a painful lurch at her godfather's words, but she didn't say a thing.

"I wish I could do something about the situation because if I could I definitely would not be sitting here in my ass yelling at some poor employee who's trying their hardest to do their job. But most of the time, I'm not good enough to be her father nor am I her lover…as nasty as that sounds to my ears because she will always be my daughter. Out of everyone, you are the one she wants to see most right now. So if I tell you where she is, you have to promise you both will come back smiling…and I don't mean that sad smile either. I don't want that crap!" Kenro looked at her sadly and sighed after his exclamation. "She loves you Michiru-chan. She really does. If she hasn't said it before, then I'll be the one to break the barrier. But she won't be the one to come to you to fix this because she is outgoing in every aspect except in relationships. It took her years to call me by my first name instead of Morimoto-sama which irked me to no end and if you're going to play the waiting game then consider what you had gone. The fact that she confessed any feelings for you is nothing short of a miracle…but if you're expecting more than that…" he trailed off with another sigh as he took a piece of paper and pen. He looked at her squarely in the eyes and asked, "Will she be coming back with you?"

Michiru gulped at the most serious expression she's ever seen from her godfather and nodded her head, albeit slowly. He gave her a small encouraging smile, wrote something on the piece of paper and gave it to her after folding it.

"Take care."

"I will," she answered automatically. She stood up from her seat and hugged Kenro wholeheartedly. "Thank you Oji-san."

He gave her a pat in the back and waved goodbye to her as she left his office.

"Here's to hoping Haruka-chan won't emancipate me when she gets back," he stated and poured himself a shot of scotch.

AN: -sigh- I meant to have this out sooner, but my brother got careless with my laptop, left the battery on, made it die, and as I was putting the charger on it to recharge, apparently pulled too hard and the charger got destroyed…O.O; so ghetto…now I have to buy a new charger…-sigh-. So for everyone thankful for this chapter…thank my girlfriend cuz we have the same type of laptop therefore the same battery and she's the reason why I can access my story cuz the wonderful being lend me her labby charger (and yes smartieox…I did not back my entire story up in any external yet so I was literally screwed this weekend…:/) Some would say lesson learned…but I still haven't backed it up…maybe after posting -.-. Anyway…wow…this is the second chapter next to the first one where there is NO H&M interaction huh? I mean the Haruka's past chappies was okay cuz they were sorta talking in between intermissions…but this one…wowzah. Umm…the next chapter is all H&M so that's a little consolation prize I guess…but otherwise I hope I cleared up the whole TWE situation and all that's left to clear now is Haruka and Michiru's. Huzzah! And wow…last chapter let me hit and pass the 200 review mark. –blush- -bow- XD I feel extremely honored. Thanks a lot and if anyone has any questions regarding the conversations made here by any of the characters…please don't hesitate to ask. On one last note…I don't think I can pass 27 reviews for one chapter… dang…that's a lot…:D ty yet again.

Shinata-Riyoko: XD I'm sorry for not updating sooner than I wanted to and I'm also sorry that they did not reconcile in this chapter…it was an overall boring one wasn't it? Hope to keep you reading though…cuz the next one should be alright.

Knightlight: hahaha Michiru being bipolar…hmm…nah she's not…my writing skill just sucks…hahaha. Or maybe I should just say she's pmsing..that would explain a lot of the weird and sudden mood swings…it definitely does for me anyway…-.- Yeah, I feel sorry for Haruka too…she seems so defeated here huh? Michiru grovel?...hmm seems ooc…:D but she really should though…

Sakura blossoms4: Why do I keep doing what:D

Smartieox: yeah…I COULD HAVE offered fanservice in the beginning, but you know…I really think the last couple chapters should make up for it…gah…you and fanservicing… hahaha I doubt anyone would be happy w/ one kiss in the lake…hey..i'm going for romance here buddy! Omg…I didn't update faster..now you won't tell me the difference between guy/girl story tellers in your perspective/opinion D'X it wasn't my fault!! Blame it on someone else…although…not having a backup is sorta my fault…I need to stop digging my graves…see you next time :D

Heatqueen: Nope..sorry not this chappie…I love how people are taking sides though…maybe I should make a poll…yeah..I'll do that… XD an I'm for Haruka/Michiru poll…I'll post it in the end… XD I love these damn polls!

Hunter007: hahaha glad to hear about the insight on girl/guy authors. As for Haruka…she's getting a beating isn't she? She shows so much outward physical strength…but inside, especially when it comes to Michiru, she's so…weak…can't get a better term than that out XD But yeah..it really does show how important Michiru is to her. It's one of the only ways for her to have an outlet for her emotions I guess.

Reusch: D: sorry for making you sad…happy then sad…but sad all the same XD. They'll get together…don't worry…and it'll be Michiru to approach…not the other way around. In my opinion, it has to be her…cuz as Kenro said…she was the one who pushed Haruka away.

Thenightwithin: hahaha I love it when people ramble in the review page actually..it's quite entertaining..it gives me something to say when I have these one sided convos XD Glad they were worth the wait and I'm glad you could visualize it…it means I'm writing correctly XD

Momo-Tay: -blush- Thank you for the kind comments. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope I don't disappoint in later ones :D

Agent-Ayu: Don't cry! They'll get together! Don't worry bout it! And as for the POW thing…I'm glad you caught it. Yeah…Haruka needs a break doesn't she?

LitaDelacour: hahaha, yup Haruka did shoot Akira and yes they will clear the air up of any misconceptions next chapter :D

Wolvesorrow: hahaha well it wasn't as you said it was, but it was damn well close. And yes…assumptions do make people look bad huh?

RaginFireDesire: hahah on the edge huh? Glad to hear it! Poor Haruka always gets the worst end of the author's wrath huh? She does a hell of a good job and she loses the girl for it…thanks a lot Harukaze…

Thepillows93: O.O Don't worry about late reviews…ffn still takes em and so do I XD. And I'm sorry if it went to fast. Usually the readers are right about those kinds of things so XD sorry if it seemed that way anyway.  poor Haruka right? I put her in so much crap -.-;

MilenaOne: XD ty ty XD hahaha gaydar huh? Yah…you know…my gaydar…is sorta useless…like I can tell when a guy is gay…but when it comes to girls (which is technically more helpful for me cuz I could give a crap if a guy is straight or not) it totally doesn't work…-.- -shakes head- hehe and longness? Don't worry about it…I put "dorkiness" in the story and word says it's not a word…but I say otherwise :D

Tonker:D Glad you spent a nice deal of time reading it. Thanks for the comments and I hope you enjoy the rest. Hmm and about "All He Ever Wanted"…I actually need to apologize to my readers about that one -.- after the last book I lost hope in it –sigh- hate that damn book…anyway if you want to read it knock yourself out…but if you're not into Potterverse then…it's solely up to you. I personally love this story in comparison to that one.

Mantaray: hehehe…well Haruka hasn't resigned but guilty Michiru is definitely in the works :D. As for the talk…which is gonna be the chapter after the next one…:D is my answer to that hahahah. And no…Haruka's so having a bad day…

Pyunji: Hehe up and downs create more chapters which (I hope) create more reviews…XD nah I didn't put that in because of that…I wanted a trial. That's all…I wanted the two of them to have a personal trial and I felt that the story wouldn't end right if they didn't have something that could break them apart if they didn't get over it so yah…that's why I put that there :D

Bound Dragon: Hehe everything'll be fine.

Petiyaka: hahaha girls! So emotional sheesh! As for being a tomboy…I think I'm the only one I know in like…a 50 mile radius…well not to that extreme I guess, but I have not yet met a tomboy like me…like I've met someone who is and sorta not…but in the end…they began liking girl's clothes which I abhor to pieces… hahaha so yeah…I'm glad I'm not the only one being mistaken as a guy too. XD it sorta works out though…I had to pee hella badly this one day and some girls LOCKED the public restroom at some Chinese restaurant…and I entered the guy's room and the guy washing his hands didn't even give me a passing glance XD

Urooj:D Thanks and…you reviewed before…I remember you cuz you're the first ever to give me a review :D so yeah… XD

Haruka's Knight: hehe not leaving a long review is fine :D and dude! I would love to have a shirt like that…I think I'll even write Kenro wearing something like that…it would be priceless XD hahaha –sigh- poor Haruka… I don't get that whole makeup stuff too…and…now that you remind me of high school and locker rooms…I actually remember this one where I played a joke on my gf…made it seem like she lost our phone when she actually forgot she gave it back to me and we went back to the locker rooms cuz we both had gym class that day. We enter the girl's locker room and they were already changing…and this girl came up to me after I got a lot of strange looks and she said the funniest thing. "I don't mind you being in here, but can you please close your eyes when I change?" O.O; I was thinking…if I was a real guy…will they really say that??? O.O I just sorta gave her a blank look and told my gf I was joking w/ her just so I can leave quickly…

Ai No Tame Ni: Heart aching? I LOVE IT when my heart aches from reading a story XD. More angst…I'm not sure if I put in anymore…it sorta comes "naturally" I guess…well I don't force it anyway…but yeah…:D Glad you like it nonetheless ahahah my gf as well as I loved your PS by the way…very entertaining.

Cybeleflame: hahaha Michiru's being stupid…I love how you just said that…and Kenro's always cheerful…except in this chapter…he wasn't having a good day… XD

BleuFleur: Faked out eh? XD hahaha budding romantics are never outta danger! XD j/k…after this they'll reconcile…hopefully :D

RachelAe: I've never wanted to dress girly…eww…just the mere thought…of putting on a dress…those shoes…make up…ugh!!! Noooooo!! XD I love the fact that I know how to put a tie on correctly, but not a dress…regardless of how simple the latter may be (sometimes it's hella more complicated though…which hole does your head go into in those damn dresses??) I haven't had to deal w/ em since Freshman year homecoming so huzzah! Oh yeah…those limos did have bulletproof windows…Toriyama would be dead with the way Haruka was firing at them like crazy… XD hahaha Akira and Kenro stupid?? Well I guess they could be to other's feelings.. XD Like superiors like subordinate XD

And as for the poll…Three people were for Michiru's actions and seven sympathized w/ Haruka XD. Til next time.


	16. Just to be With You

Chapter 16: Just to be With You

The rain had not ceased at all. The droplets pelted against her coat madly and soaked her hair so fast that in a matter of seconds, it looked as if she had taken a thorough shower. But she couldn't feel it, nor hear any sounds from her surroundings. Her hand could only grip tightly on a bouquet of flowers as she willed one foot to go in front of the other fairly unsuccessfully.

She had been standing, rooted at her spot for the past fifteen minutes, observing in gut wrenching silence a kneeling Haruka in front of a large gravestone. All nerves in her body told her to go to the broken young woman who had not changed positions since she arrived, but her body would not move.

Finally after five more minutes elapsed and she could have sworn a shiver shook Haruka's frame, she started walking to said girl, albeit slowly. As she got nearer, her heart begun thumping loudly, her brain practically screaming at her to run to the opposite direction. Instead though, she willed herself to continue until she was just a few feet away from the blonde.

She breathed in heavily. _Now or never…_

She took the last few steps forward and visibly felt Haruka stiffen beside her as she knelt down on the muddy grass, placed the bouquet of flowers in the middle of the black, shiny gravestone, and clasped her hands together in front of her.

She closed her eyes, feeling Haruka's own green ones staring at her. As the nervous feeling of wondering what the taller girl would do at the sight of her subsided, the calm serenity she had missed finally came back. A small smile graced her features, happy that Haruka didn't stand up and leave when she noticed and acknowledged her presence. Seeing no other way of beginning any sort of conversation with the blonde next to her, she clasped her hands in front of her and began praying, paying respects to the married couple beneath her.

_Tenoh-san, Tenoh-san I would like to first thank you both for making a beautiful daughter. Haruka probably doesn't think so, but she is a beautiful woman regardless of how she dresses herself. I wish above all things that I could have met you. Haruka speaks of you both highly and strongly. No one in this world can replace you, although I truly wish sometimes that she love Kenro Oji-san with the same ferocity. _

She smiled lightly as a cool breeze swept through her. It didn't feel menacingly cool like the rain had been successfully doing, making her believe that her thoughts were being heard by the people she was talking to.

_Please give us your blessing as well. I know that one of the reasons she's here today is me, but I'm also here to reconcile for it. I just hope it's not too late. When we have everything between us fixed, I promise to come here every time with her…even if I have to come just as her friend._

A lump formed in her throat as her mind gave this sudden proclamation. She shook herself out of her reverie and opened her eyes, looking directly at the gravestone where the names Tenoh Suichi and Nagisa were engraved.

_I hope that you can rest fully in peace now, knowing that I'll be here to take care of Haruka. There will probably be rough times when we'll need your guidance, but I promise never to break her heart again. _

She gave one last bow with her head and felt the water finally seep into her clothes. She shivered automatically as the cold water finally penetrated all the way to her skin and turned her head to the side to see a still Haruka, her eyes rooted to the gravestone where her mother's name was located devoid of any real emotion. The rain had by now showered her so much that her blonde hair dripped constantly with ice cold water and her clothes were beyond wet.

They really needed a warm, dry place.

"Haruka?" Michiru's voice sounded foreign to her ears, but the other apparently couldn't or didn't want to hear her. "Let's go. You'll catch a cold out here."

When the taller girl did not react at all to her words, Michiru reached out to touch her arm only to retract it as she felt her flinch. A small frown etched through Haruka's face, but her eyes stayed staring at the exact spot.

"I really need to talk to you Haruka," the violinist stated softly, turning her whole body to face her. They were still both on their knees and she could feel the mud actually cake itself on her skin. "But if we stay here any longer, we'll both get sick—

"Go home. No one's asking you to stay here."

Haruka's icy words left her speechless, but the monotonous and robotic way it was delivered kept her in her spot. The words hurt, but she knew it wasn't anything compared to how the other must've felt the night she gave her careless words as a reply. She swallowed the pain down and again stared at the blonde's tired, bent form.

A stray lump of wet hair blocked her view of weary, sparkless green eyes and before she could stop herself, brushed it further back where it came from almost out of reflex. The pianist, stiffening at the sudden touch, brushed her hair back herself after Michiru retracted her hand, doing it out of habit more than anything.

"I'll be here then," the shorter girl stated with no room for any dispute in her voice. "I'll be here with you until you're ready to speak to me."

"Go home Kaioh-san," Haruka grunted.

Michiru frowned at her given title and looked away momentarily. "Not until we've spoken."

An angry look stormed through Haruka's eyes as she whipped her head to face the smaller girl. Water droplets fell quickly from her hair caused by the immediate movement as the blonde's face contorted in fury. "What do you want to talk about Kaioh-san?" she asked in an obvious sarcastic tone. "Are you here to make amends? Say you're sorry for what you said, but it's all true so you can't take it back? 'Oh thanks for the wonderful experience Haruka, but I think I'm not into girls after all. Plus I don't really know you anyway so thanks for giving me a chance to test out my experiment—

A loud smack echoed through the empty graveyard drowned by the sound of pouring rain nanoseconds after it had happened. The tall blonde did not put a hand over her furiously red cheek nor look at the angry crying face of her old charge.

Michiru felt her hand tingle painfully from her reflexive movement and looked angrily away, rage and pain bubbling to the surface.

"I can't believe you would actually even think that," she stated between her teeth. Angry streams poured out of her eyes as she let them go freely, sobs wracking her body at the same time. Her heart hurt. Her eyes stung. And she felt a new kind of cold that no freezing rain could ever bring out. "I love you," she whispered silently making Haruka's eyes widen in surprise. Her hands clutched at her wet dress until her knuckles turned white, but she didn't admonish it. "I'm sorry for what I said the other night. Everything happened quickly and I resorted to judgment before taking your words into consideration. I spoke to Hokuto-chan today and she explained the parts that I missed…that I didn't give you time to explain.

"If I could, I would go back to that night and experience everything that happened again just so I could end it by kissing you and thanking you for loving me so much that you would go through hell and back for me." The events of that night flashed through Michiru's mind as she said this, causing her tribulation to grow. "I didn't appreciate you. I learned that during the time you were gone and I was alone. I didn't tell you enough that having you with me was enjoyable…that every day was worth living more than the last because you were there with me. I didn't feel so lonely. I could laugh freely and share with you what I really felt inside."

The tears had cascaded down her cheeks by now and her voice had also started to give out. Her heart yelped from the constricting pain as she put a fisted hand over it. Still, she did not look at the blonde who was now also crying silently beside her and continued on.

"If I don't already know all of you, I want to still. I will listen to all the things you'd be willing to tell me if only you could give me the chance to keep loving you as I do now. If you don't have a reply for me now I'll wait. You deserve that much. I'll wait until you're ready and whatever answer you have for me I'll take it."

The short girl slowly turned her head to look at the blond before her and their eyes finally met. Her insides wrenched at the tears pouring out of the other girl's eyes as she reached out to her and wiped them all away, as futile as it was.

"You're the first to make me feel this way," she stated softly, looking at Haruka squarely in the eyes. "I don't want nor think anyone else in this world has the ability to do that."

She smiled warmly at her despite the tears still streaming down her cheeks. As soon as her words stopped, Haruka came out of her stupor and launched herself at the girl before her, hugging her fiercely. Not a moment passed before Michiru returned the hug, digging herself deeper in the protective embrace she'd come to know and expect.

"I love you too," Haruka's husky voice replied and the violinist smiled at the sound of her voice reverberating through her body accompanied with the sound of her heart beating against her ears. Haruka's hands entangled themselves in her hair as they knelt, rooted at the spot and just hugged.

Michiru looked up as the embrace loosened after a few minutes and squinted as raindrop after raindrop pelted the spots near her eyes. The blonde noticed this and towered her head over the violinist's to cover her from anymore rain.

"It's raining," Michiru stated and giggled at her acute observation.

Haruka gave a handsome smirk and nodded. "Yeah…well said."

The violinist gave a little smile before grasping the taller girl's shirt collar and pulling her face down to hers, making their mouths meet momentarily. It was a soft kiss, one that both did not deepen out of lust or hunger, but kept tender for a declaration's sake.

As they pulled apart, Michiru tangled her fingers into Haruka's hair and brushed it back, repeating the same gesture as she locked eyes with an amused tomboy's. As handfuls of water wrung from the blonde's hair from her fingers, she looked at her surprisingly and both nodded in agreement.

"We need to get out of this rain."

O-----O

Out of weariness more than anything, Haruka parked her car in the nearest cheap hotel that they could find and glanced at Michiru's knowing smile. She did not act like the rich girl and questioned the hotel they parked in front of: a fifteen story Best Western. Instead she looked at tired eyes and squeezed the hand that was underneath hers, following it by rubbing on the blonde's cheeks affectionately.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Haruka asked as they stepped out of the Ferrari. "I could drive us back to Tokyo—

"Haruka, you're unfit to drive. You're tired, you've been kneeling in front of Suichi Oji-san and Nagisa Oba-san's graves all day, and I could care less what hotel we stay in as long as it's out of this rain and we're in our warm clothes," Michiru declared and pulled out a large shopping bag from behind her seat.

Haruka smiled softly at Michiru's choice of words regarding her parents and locked hands with her before going into the hotel.

They chose the largest room in the tallest story of the hotel out of Haruka's insistence. Michiru rolled her eyes exasperatedly and smiled, putting a robe over her cold form. She gave Haruka the bathroom first, literally having to shove her in. Cries of protest and a pout later and she got what she wanted; albeit that pout Haruka gave almost made her give in too.

She looked out of the window at the dimly lit small offices and bustling restaurants around her. They were many miles outside of Tokyo in one of the more suburban towns and the sun had set a half an hour back. Briefly, she wondered if Haruka remembered this place in her childhood and was suddenly pulled out of her reverie by a pair of strong arms hugging her. Smiling, she inhaled the clean scent and glanced at the blonde's content face, putting her hand over one of the other's in the process.

"Do you remember this place from when you were a child?"

Haruka looked at the buildings around them for a bit before nodding slowly. "It's changed a lot since I was small, but there's still that little restaurant in the corner where my mother, father, and I used to go to every weekend."

Michiru stared at a small, bright building in the distance. "Was their food that good?"

Haruka shrugged, not really remembering. "All I know is I hated vegetables, but for some reason the salad there was good…so my parents indulged me and took me there every weekend."

"Hmm…" Michiru smirked and looked up at a questioning Haruka. "Let's go eat there after my shower. I bet you haven't even had lunch yet."

The blonde frowned at the truthful statement and pushed the smaller girl in her arms playfully with her body. As if on cue, one of their stomachs growled, causing the taller girl to look at the blushing culprit with a questioning smirk. "And you had the audacity to say _I _haven't eaten lunch."

Michiru slapped her playfully in the arm and took herself out of the embrace, as much as her body protested. "I'll go get ready. No peaking please."

This little statement caused a heavy blush to set itself all over Haruka's cheeks. "I—I wasn't planning to…" she stammered unconsciously.

Michiru swayed her hips seductively and looked back at her wide eyed girlfriend. "Hmm…darn."

The blonde's eyes trailed after her even after she went into the only bathroom provided in the hotel room, the wicked smile still gracing her lips. She sighed afterwards and rubbed at her eyes tiredly. She glanced at the old restaurant again before sitting on one of the beds and looked down at her hands.

The day's events played out in front of her: from waking up at four in the morning to drive out of Tokyo, to the time Michiru knelt next to her in front of her parents' tombstones. What possessed her to say what she said to Michiru must've been both of their breaking points. She was just glad she received only a slap from it and not her desired effect of Michiru leaving her there to suffer alone. Haruka smiled, feeling light and burden free. The painful throb that's been dominating her heart had left and in its place was the feeling of belonging. She missed it. She already missed the aqua haired girl's presence after only a few minutes.

Immediately she wished she could go inside the bathroom and hug Michiru, definitely not out of lust, but just because she missed her.

_I wonder if she won't mind not eating out,_ she asked herself as she looked back outside at the dark and still raining town. _I just want to keep her to myself tonight._

She laid down at the bottom part of the hard mattress and felt her wet hair seep on to the bed's comforters. She laid her forearm on her forehead and stared straight at the white ceiling listening to the splashes of water coming from the bathroom in the next room.

When Michiru came out of the bathroom, she found Haruka on the bed still staring listlessly at the ceiling. She sat next to her laying body and stroked her hair back just for the feel of the silky strands against her fingers.

"Yen for your thoughts?"

Haruka gave a little smirk and locked eyes with her. "I know you wanted to eat out, but can we order in instead?"

The violinist smiled warmly and nodded her head. "Whatever you want Haruka."

They opted for the nearest pizza place, deciding it only because it was one of the few phone numbers for delivery options inside a small pamphlet strategically placed on top of their hotel room's TV.

While waiting for the food to arrive, they bathed in companionable silence and rested on one of the two beds, fingers intertwined and eyes locked. Every now and then, Michiru would break the silence and ask a question-- about the blonde's parents, her old house, what she remembered, the details left out during her younger years as Kenro's adopted child, and anything else her brain would suddenly start poking at her to ask. Haruka paused at each question only to reminisce and sooner than later answer with a small smile playing on her lips at which time the violinist would not be able to stop herself and kiss her before she even got done answering the question.

Thirty minutes later and their food finally arrived, Haruka slamming the door on the pimply faced boy's face before he could chance a glance at a scantily clad Michiru who decided that one of Haruka's extra shirts that they bought earlier made the best night wear.

_It just had to be white…_

The tomboy could almost feel the blood rushing out of her nose as her eyes flitted at the curves behind the white shirt.

"Hurry up, Ruka, before it gets cold," Michiru called patting at the spot next to her on the bed.

They ate soon after, Haruka smiling wider every time Michiru fed her a topping. It wasn't the best tasting pizza she's ever tasted, but the company made all the difference and did Michiru _have_ to linger her finger at her mouth after she gave her something to eat? She grinned boyishly and rested her head on the smaller girl's shoulders, chewing on her food as she did so. Michiru gave her a small kiss on the forehead before returning to the pizza she was attending to.

"I like this," Haruka stated, surprising even herself for saying something in the midst of eating in silence.

Michiru looked at her with a smile, but didn't interrupt.

"This. You and me, eating mediocre food and enjoying every bit of it. I like it. It's not complicated. It's just exactly what it looks like."

The violinist smiled wider and gave her a soft kiss on her lips before asking, "Are you afraid that it'll get more complicated?"

Haruka didn't need to think it and merely nodded. "I don't want to go back to Tokyo tomorrow because of all the complications of work and life. I just… want to be with you. I want it to be as simple as that. I mean, I don't want to be idle forever…but keeping you for myself _right now_ without the feeling of having to care for anything else. I just want that."

Michiru placed the greasy slice of pizza on an empty portion of the small box, noticing that the taller girl hadn't taken a bite of her slice in a while. She took it from her hands despite the surprised and questioning look coming from her girlfriend's face and stood up, beckoning her to come with her to the other, cleaner bed. She laid at the center of it and pulled Haruka with her, positioning herself so that the other girl's head was comfortably cradled on her neck and shoulders and both were simultaneously hugging the other.

"First off, we'll go home tomorrow because I promised Kenro Oji-san that I would take you back," she started, stroking Haruka's hairs as she did so. She wouldn't tire of the activity anytime soon and the heavy body on top of hers felt right. The blonde looked at her as she stared at the ceiling in concentration. "Then from there, we'll decide on what we really want to do. If you feel like you can take some time off of being Commander, then I'll talk to my manager about giving me some time off from recording. School isn't much of an issue because of the staff's knowledge of my studious nature and if it has come to it, I'll use my influence to make them give me an early break. Then of course, the biggest one would be my parents."

Haruka's eyes widened slightly for a second, unmissed by the violinist who giggled in spite of herself.

"Don't worry Haruka," she stated softly. "They like you."

"Hmm…I'm not sure about Yuriko-san…" the blonde replied uneasily.

"Then I'll make her like you," Michiru quipped. Haruka shook her head in discomfort, hugged tightly thereafter by the smaller girl beneath her. "Everything that they do is for my best interest. I know you know that from how your parents and Kenro Oji-san treated you."

Haruka looked up at her as they shared a warm smile.

"I'll take care of everything. You've had enough to worry about."

The blonde smiled softly, her eyes beginning to droop. The feel of soft hands brushing against her scalp eased any troubles she felt and the lithe body beneath hers served to make her feel wanted.

"I miss you Michiru," she admonished softly and quietly.

The soft hands stopped brushing her hair for a moment and she could clearly see a smiling violinist looking down at her with love written in her eyes. She felt her squirm momentarily and then soft lips grazed against her forehead.

"Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

AN: Alright…so there wasn't a big make out scene…and it really is the shortest chapter ever…but I couldn't make it longer because it sounded hella sweet already and I can't write make out scenes nicely…I get…shy I guess… XD I dunno…I can't write make out scenes…I get hella uncomfortable when I write them…doesn't seem natural. With that said, I hope you liked the more "romantic" setting chapter 16 had and I hope I didn't disappoint since I didn't make 'em go buckwild on each other. XD hahaha. So next chapter is going to be strictly "The Talk" chapter…I'm sure most of you know what I mean about that…and after that chapter will be the closing of the story. –sigh- all good things must come to an end I guess…but I'll say all I need to say when we get there. Chapter 17 is going to be more or less as short as this chappy (sorry in advance) but I'll try to make the ending worth it :). K, with that said…Imma go have my convos now XD. PS: isn't that the most cheesiest chapter title ever?...I couldn't think of any other phrase/sentence/word(s) that can fit it best though -.-;;

XXXdotieXXX: zomg!! CONCENTRATE ON YOUR STUDIES!! XD leave this to the backburner…'cuz I'll guarantee you that I will update…it's just the wait that's painful hahaha. And Michiru being an ass…XD I hope you like her better here. Thanks for finding the time to review…I appreciate it.

MilenaOne: Hehe why won't u be able to read? Busy? I don't blame you…my updates have been too sporadic recently. The wait is over!...for chapter 16 anyway…for the rest…yah you'll still have to wait XD

Mantaray: hahaha I'm glad I was the reason for your increase in sadism. As for the fanservice…sorry if I didn't deliver that well. I just…can't write…absolutely crazy make out scenes…there has to be like…a thread of romance in it…I think it's just me. I have yet to evolve into a better writer hahaha.

Glowie: hehe My charger's all fixed…I let the company I bought it from charge me extra for one day delivery costs…-sigh- can't really live w/o this piece of technology…pretty sad XD

RaginFireDesire: hahaha Michiru definitely hunted her down XD

Heatqueen: Yep…they got back XD. Glad you liked/understood the "clear up chapter". I was hoping it didn't go too conversationy (not a word XD) and confuse people. As for my body burning…well hell I'm glad I got em together…the thought of my body burning… -shiver- I've turned my readers into monsters hahaha

Smartieox: If my whole laptop blew up…O.O I would cry endlessly…there's so much crap up in here…I'd lose too much. Actually…there was a time a few months back when I turned it on and it could turn on but it just wouldn't work…it wouldn't let me go in my account…nothing. I had a friend of mine check it out and all he could do was I guess "semi reboot it"…dunno much about computers but he was able to start it up again and I lost practically everything…including this story. Like I have the entire story written in I think…three separate notebooks?...and I decided to type them in here with a lot of major editing/changes…and then my labby crashed and…all that hard work…gone T.T. My gf had to console me forever….and then I found out that the files were still somehow accessible…and I was a happy little author again HUZZAH! Wow…long story… XD. A few days isn't a while…I have spoiled you people! I have school tomorrow and here I am…updating at three thirty am…sheesh! Spoiled readers… XD :D I can write angst?? HUZZAH! Unfortunately…one of the things I can't do well is prolonged angst…As you can probably tell…I can't make them keep pining for each other…I want them together now XD. And…HOT MAKE-UP SEX???? Zomg woman… (if you're not a woman I'm sorry…I call my guy cousins woman if it makes you feel better…) but…god woman…I'm trying to keep it teen rating here! As for the poll…I just wanted to see how many people were on Michiru's side after Chapter 15 and how many sympathized with Haruka.

Cybeleflame: XD emotional!Haruka equals sad Haruka. Hehe I liked how you named the chappy though: springboard XD

Knightlight: Hehe…my grammar sux… xD as for bipolar Michiru…hmm if you say so…can't argue w/ readers' opinions XD. PMS is a…well yeah… XD

Reusch: hahaha when you started talking about watching the bar in the right…I do that all the time when I read a good story…I'm like nooooo don't end yet…PLEAAAASEEE!!! Torture?? Me?? I'm not into that stuff :D. Hmm…does the pattern fit? Are you happy this chappy since you were sad last?? XD

Sakura blossoms4: hehe hope this was soon enough.

Bound Dragon: Hahaha I don't wanna say the same thing I said to sakura up top but…yeah…is this soon enough?? I'll make it a question so it sounds a tad bit different. XD

Agent-Ayu:D Glad you like Hokuto…for some reason that OC reminds me of a more social (but not to that extreme) version of Hotaru when she was older and a Mugen student. XD

Facing Reality: I'll be posting Thursday very early morning apparently XD. Hope you enjoy.

LitaDelacour: yeah…Hokuto has it bad… poor girl. My poor OC's….if they were ever brought to life…they'd wanna kill me for all the crap I put them through XD

Yamato: Hehe Glad you liked it. As for a new installment… hehe we'll see…is all I have to say I guess. So yeah XD we'll see XD

Thepillows93: I wouldn't be surprised if I have angry reviews on my HP fic XD. I know how it is don't worry bout it. Hahaha uninteractiony chapters are mainly my "let's clear this crap out so we can have interactiony chapters" chapters XD Hope this one was interactiony enough and let's see if the last couple are good too.

Haruka-Michiru:D Glad you like the story. Hahaha it's funny how you like that specific part of the story. It just seemed weird for Kenro to trek all the way to where they were during the meet to tell them to meet up…or send someone and yah..txting XD. Saves time.

Haruka's Knight: O.O sounds like you had a sorta "Five Days in Hell" spectacle Haruka's Knight version. GO TO SLEEP! THIS STORY WILL BE HERE WHEN YOU WAKE UP! XD I'm glad you liked how the other chapter went and yah…Haruka's job sux doesn't it?

RachelAe: Hehe…Kenro and Akira know how to play mind games and know who the ones truly to blame for it so yeah…the fact that everything was under the table and no one really knew anything is very…them… Manipulative, yet kind… XD

James Hiwatari: Hahaha…your labby doesn't have a ? button…that's funny XD Anyway…yeah…it's way past overdue to them being together…so here's the chappy that sorta solidifies it. XD I'm glad you like Kenro (he is the best character to write about cuz he has so many dimensions) Glad you found the time to review and I hope you enjoy the rest :)

Tonker: -sigh- XD I really would love it if I had the ability to prolong drama/angst scenes…but I just can't DX. One minute they're fighting the next I'm like…why are they together already?? Hahaha so yah…hope you enjoyed in nonetheless.

Thenightwithin: You don't have to wait long :D

Harumichi: Heh I'm glad you like it.


	17. The Talk

Chapter 17: The Talk

To say that they were extremely worried was an understatement.

"She's never done this before Akira," Yuriko's stated anxiously, pacing back and forth on the small area that consisted the front of Michiru's white couch.

Two days of not answering nor returning phone calls after such a chaotic event finally drove the elder Kaioh to call her husband out of his work and go to their daughter's condo, only to find out that she wasn't there either.

"She didn't tell you anything? If she was going out or…something?" she asked halfway near hysterical.

Akira looked on at his wife worriedly and shrugged. "I mean, I haven't seen Haruka-chan either so—

"What does she have to do with it?"

The President of TWE visibly gulped as he looked away uneasily.

Yuriko quickly rounded on him. "There isn't anything going on with our daughter and Kenro's daughter is there?" she asked eyeing him warily.

"Well… it was over the last time I witnessed anything—

"Something actually happened??"

Okay, now she was hysterical.

Akira got up from his sitting position and grabbed his wife by the shoulders. He looked at her squarely in the eyes seriously, immediately grabbing her attention. "Michi-chan is a mature, independent young woman who can take care of herself Yuriko. I mean, yes, I sort of went over the edge sometimes by making my bodyguards follow her to no end, but she's very responsible and when she gets back, I'm sure she'll tell us exactly where she's been and what's going on. As for her relationship with my subordinate…well _I _still don't know the full details about it. It's her personal life. When she wants us to know about it, she'll be more than willing to tell us."

Yuriko sighed heavily for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I'm just worried Akira, that's all. I know Michi-chan's responsible. She won't do anything that will endanger her future and she's…she's…not sexually active…right?"

Akira's eyes bulged from their sockets. "YURIKO THEY'VE ONLY KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR A COUPLE WEEKS!"

"Right!" his wife nodded vigorously. "Our daughter would know better than that!"

Akira nodded relieved at one hand that he knew Haruka well enough that she _hopefully_ wouldn't do anything…yet…and at the same time worried that Michiru might not be with her in the first place.

_Why did we say it was okay for her to not wield a cell phone??_ He sighed deeply and looked at one of the paintings posted on the wall. _Well if it comes down to it…at least she _can't_ get pregnant. _He almost breathed a sigh of relief thanking the gods that Haruka was a girl because if she was any other gender he would not be sitting here idly. No he'd be turning Japan upside down looking for her and then castrating any _boy _within thirty feet of her.

When he looked back up, Yuriko had resorted to, once again, pacing. When the doorknob to the condo twisted open, they both looked up expectantly only to find the Vice President looking back at them.

"Kenro?" Yuriko called out.

"I see the kids aren't back yet," he replied boyishly and closed the door behind him.

"So they are together then?" Akira asked as his coworker settled on the loveseat across from the sofa he was on.

Kenro merely shrugged. "I mean, Michiru-chan came to see me yesterday afternoon with the intent of looking for Haruka-chan, but I don't know if they're together. Haruka-chan left her cell phone at the house on purpose too…didn't want distractions."

"Distractions from doing what?" the lady Kaioh asked with an almost dangerous tone.

Kenro smirked, but decided not to test his long time friend's humor. "She went to visit her parents." Yuriko's demeanor immediately softened. "She hates it when she visits them and someone interrupts as she's praying so she makes it a habit to leave her cell phone at home."

She nodded, feeling immediately sorry for assuming differently. She looked at Kenro's relaxed feature and finally sat down beside her husband. "She's a nice girl…right?"

Kenro looked at her and nodded surely. "Haruka-chan is a respectful, well mannered girl that has never disappointed me as a daughter. As a daughter-in-law, I'm sure she won't disappoint either."

Yuriko blushed a little at the proclaimed statement and asked, "So it is serious?"

"Well from the way Michiru-chan acted in my office yesterday, yes, I would say it's serious."

"And you're okay with it?"

Kenro shrugged. "I can't complain. Haruka-chan's choice is rather… exceptional."

She sighed again as Akira smiled next to her. "So I am the only one who's a little uneasy about this?"

Her husband patted her hand softly, giving her a warm look. "Get to know Haruka-chan and you'll know Michi-chan made the right decision. She's not some hormone crazed teenager. She's very responsible and is probably hoping for your acceptance more than anyone's."

Just as he finished, the door to the condo opened once again, and finally, the two people all three were looking for finally came home.

"Otou-san? Okaa-san?" Michiru greeted in confusion.

Haruka stood behind her, a very uneasy look on her face. She bowed shortly at them, but stayed silent.

"Where have you—

Akira's hand upon hers stopped Yuriko immediately as he stood up and walked closer to the teens. "Where were you? We've been waiting for a while."

Michiru's mouth began to open, but before she could get the words out, Haruka stood beside her and replied, "Michiru came with me yesterday to visit my parents. I would have taken us both home after, but she and I were both tired and we were a long way from here so we decided to stay in a hotel for the night."

At the sound of the word hotel, all three elders stiffened a little.

Yuriko was first to ask, "Did…you share a room?"

Michiru blushed heavily. "Yes, mother, we shared a room."

"But there were two beds," her mother stated, feeling as if she shouldn't even question such a ludicrous sentence.

The blonde scratched her head nervously. "Can't say there wasn't…"

"So you both slept in different beds."

Both teens looked at each other with deer-caught-on-the-headlights looks in their faces.

"Can't…really say that happened either," Haruka answered, a blush creeping from her neck to her face.

All three elders eyed the two of them curiously.

"Nothing happened!" Michiru exclaimed rather loudly. "We were tired after visiting Haruka's parents, we went to get fresh clothes, stayed at the nearest hotel we could find, ordered pizza for dinner and slept in the same bed with all our clothes intact." She rolled her eyes as she actually saw sighs of relief coming from both her parents and a disappointed one coming from her godfather.

Haruka smirked beside her as the violinist gave her a playful shove.

"Didn't think the welcome wagon would be here…" Michiru whispered making Haruka grin widely.

"And in a work day no less," the tomboy added.

The shorter girl looked up at her seriously and took her hand in hers. She looked back at her parents' expectant faces and smiled. "Actually Haruka and I would like to talk to each of you about something important to us. I hope that all of you can listen and understand."

The three elders looked on at the serious face both teens sported and nodded, Kenro getting up from his spot and transferring to the extra space where Akira and Yuriko sat on before the two of them went back to their original spots. At the same time, Haruka and Michiru walked towards them and sat on the loveseat, facing the three solemnly.

Silence bathed the room for a couple seconds before Michiru looked at both of her parents squarely in the eyes and felt Haruka's hand tighten around hers.

"First off," she started, "You've both raised me well so this decision I've made does not mean that you've failed as parents. To be honest, I feel like no parent can raise me better than you both have."

Akira and Yuriko smiled warmly at her, not interrupting as Kenro looked on in silence.

"That's why, with that said," she continued, glancing at Haruka shortly, "Haruka and I would like to be the first to tell all of you that we care for each other very strongly and deeply and that our feelings aren't temporary.

"I understand that as international businessmen, all of you will get affected with our being together, but—

Akira silenced his daughter quickly by putting his hand up in front of him. He smiled inwardly at how she was beginning to rant from nervousness, looked at her seriously, and replied, "That shouldn't even be an agenda here. What goes on out there and what they say doesn't matter. What I'm more worried about is how serious the two of you are—if this is really what you want. If you dive head on into this you might regret it and in the end, none of us want to see our kids hurt…and that's the bottom line.

"You've also only known each other for a very short amount of time. How do you know you're ready for a relationship?"

Feeling the warm body sitting next to hers, waking up that morning with caring, shiny blue eyes staring back at her, and feeling more loved than she's ever felt in her life, Haruka looked straight at her superior's eyes and replied, "There's nothing I can say to refute the fact that we haven't known each other very long. I can't also say that everything will be fine because that's abnormal in any relationship. What I do know is that I feel alive when Michiru's around me. The past couple of days when she wasn't with me solidified that. I feel like a better person when she's around. I feel… humane." This last part was said with a gulp as Akira looked at his subordinate's troubled eyes. "I love Michiru. My feelings to protect her are as strong as yours and if you would give me the chance, I'll show you…we'll both show you that however long we've known each other doesn't affect the way we feel.

"I'm not merely trying to court your daughter Akira-san. What I feel for her is a lifelong commitment. I'm sure you know how I feel… considering that you love Kaioh-san."

They stared at each other silently for a moment before the President of TWE's eyes gave a warm glow. He smiled softly at Haruka and looked down at his contemplating wife. "Anything you'd like to add Yuriko?"

She looked at him for a moment before trailing her eyes to Haruka's who was gazing at her with an almost pleading look. She looked across from her to her smiling daughter, a content look in her face she's never witnessed before.

She sighed loudly and shook her head, "If it makes Michi-chan thoroughly happy, I guess I have no say against it."

As she finished, her daughter laughed with glee and hugged Haruka as she stood up.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" a voice suddenly yelled, taking both teens' smiles off their faces. They looked at a somewhat annoyed Kenro who growled, "What about me?? You two ask Akira and Yuriko's permission, but not me? What the hell's that about?"

Michiru and Haruka gave him an amused smile as they both bowed apologetically.

"Kenro Oji-san, I was wondering if—

"NO! SHE'S MY DAUGHTER! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER AWAY!!" he yelled back dramatically.

Haruka rolled up a newspaper on the coffee table and threw it at the raving man. "Just say yes, old man…" she grunted, receiving a hug from behind by the violinist.

He gave a long and loud sigh before nodding, making his two friends laugh silently at his antics. "I guess. You gotta know when to give 'em up right Akira?"

The President smirked and nodded. "Guess so."

Haruka and Michiru both heaved sighs of relief and smiled at their understanding parents.

"Halfway there," the taller girl whispered.

"Let's finish it then?" the violinist asked and received a nod from her significant other. "Otou-san, Okaa-san, and Oji-san, there's actually one more thing we'd like to tell you."

Kenro's eyes bulged. "You're not pregnant right??"

Haruka looked around her to find another thing to throw at her surrogate father.

"No Oji-san," Michiru replied with an amused smile. "I'm not pregnant. Actually, Haruka and I were thinking about taking a sabbatical."

All three grown friends looked at both teens in understanding, the past events playing out before them.

"That's understandable," Akira replied with a nod. "With everything that both of you have been through it should be the smallest of your requests."

Yuriko looked on in silence, briefed the night after the events of what transpired in RST's building.

"If you'd like," Kenro added, "we could take care of the paperwork and whatever else you both need to deal with so you can leave as soon as you want to." He looked at his daughter and gave a handsome smile. "Don't worry about the DD. When you get back, tell me what you really want to do and if you want to continue what you're doing now, the commander spot is open for you. You've paid your debt a long time ago when you accepted me as you father, so if you're not inclined to be commander, then you're not. It's as simple as that. Whatever else you'd like to do, I'll support you and Michiru-chan'll be there to keep you in place so I'm not worried."

Haruka nodded in silence, bowing her head gratefully and gave a start as Kenro hugged her wholeheartedly. Michiru smiled as the blonde hugged her surrogate father back and looked up to see both her parents coming to her as well.

"I'm very sorry about what you had to go through that night because of me," her father replied giving her a soft kiss in the forehead. "I'll take care of telling the school and your manager so you and Haruka-chan can get on your way."

Michiru nodded gratefully as her mother played with her hair, brushing it back in her ears. "You're sure that this is what you want?" she asked, not because she didn't trust her daughter's decision, but just to reaffirm.

The violinist smiled at her and gave her a hug as well. "Yes, I'm sure." She looked up at her and beamed thankfully. "I can't wait until we get back…then you can really get to know Haruka and approve of us yourself."

Yuriko smiled at her. "Well from what I've gathered so far, she loves you… a lot…and that's enough for me for now. But I do really want to get to know her… it would make shopping easier with someone holding the bags for us all the time."

The two Kaioh women giggled making Akira feel immediately sorry for his subordinate. "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into Haruka-chan…"

O-----O

The same scene replayed itself that night as Kenro, Yuriko, and Akira sat in Michiru and probably Haruka's condo sofas, the spouses sitting on the longer couch and Kenro on the loveseat. All three just came back from the airport after waving the teens' goodbye to their trip and all were a little lost as to what they should do.

"See?" Kenro started with a grunt. "This is the reason why old people's lives shouldn't be centered around their kids. The moment that they go and start liking one another we're all lost and confused as to what _we_ should be doing!"

Akira laughed as Yuriko placed her head on his shoulders. "Where…were they headed?"

Kenro shrugged in annoyance. "Haruka-chan just said "out of Japan". I think she didn't want me to follow her or something…kept me from knowing all the needed information."

Akira laughed. "Knowing you though…you would've followed them."

"Hey!" Kenro yelled, clearly harassed. "This is Haruka's first _real_ vacation…and with Michiru-chan no less! Do you know how many incriminating pictures I could take of her?"

Yuriko laughed this time. "Well apparently, Haruka-chan had a good idea how many you could've taken… No wonder Michi-chan was secretive about it too."

"Aren't you two just a tad bit curious as to what could _happen_ in this sabbatical?" Kenro baited.

Akira gave an amused smirk as Yuriko eyed him warily.

"Yuriko…I know you're as every bit curious as I am…"

"Kenro stop baiting my wife," the elder male Kaioh stated, trying to sound serious, but failing altogether.

"You know why they didn't do anything naughty last night?" Kenro asked boomingly, standing up from his seat at his sudden discovery. "It's because they knew they would be talking to us today! They knew that after talking to us that we would _wholeheartedly_ believe them… You know what? I bet they're already going crazy on each other right now as we speak! Two seventeen year olds unsupervised. Two _very_ hormone driven seventeen year olds… unsupervised. I think you're both catching on to what I'm worried about here…"

Akira shook his head exasperatedly, but Yuriko next to him could only think of the horrors two VERY unsupervised seventeen year olds were doing.

"Akira…I am sure Michi-chan told you where they would be heading," she replied, a stammer evident in her voice.

The aqua haired man looked at his wife in surprise. "Yuriko, my God, get a grip! You shouldn't be thinking about that yet… they're relationship is just starting out!"

"Well it was like that when we were together!"

Akira's eyes bulged as his face turned burning red. Kenro laughed hysterically from across him, making him throw one of the throw pillows at him. "Michi-chan has enough self-restraint to know better—

"I trust in Michiru-chan Akira. Haruka-chan is another story…no offense Kenro… and it's not that I don't trust her…it's just I don't know her well enough yet—

"Oh Haruka-chan's like a dog in heat Yuriko. You're daughter will not be coming back a virgin."

If Akira could shoot his best friend, he would've at that given point in time. "Kenro's just being…well…Kenro, okay Yuriko? YOU'RE GETTING BAITED!! If we follow Michi-chan all the way to Hawaii do you realize how angry she'll get?" Akira's eyes widened as he finished his sentence, a devilish grin gracing Kenro's hardened features. "…Damn it!"

"No one's stopping you from coming along Akira," Kenro stated slyly getting out of his seat quickly.

"What about the company??" he asked in exasperation, his wife trailing after his best friend quickly. "Yuriko!! Don't you have a case you need to finish??"

"We'll contact the BoE later, they'll take care of the company," Kenro replied shrugging his coat on.

"My partner in the firm owes me a huge favor. He'll take over," Yuriko answered, letting Kenro help her with her coat.

Akira looked on at his wife and friend dumbfounded. When the door closed behind them, he sighed loudly and followed quickly after them.

"I am extremely sorry Michi-chan…"

AN: I'm a little worried that some of you will think that, that talk went too smoothly…but I can't, for the life of me, make the parents bad…I like them XD. I'm tired of fics making the parents the ultimate bad guys so I won't do it here. They're actually probably the only OC's that won't get tossed around by me in this entire story…so for all who thought that talk was a little, for the lack of a better term, fake…I'm sorry. Personally my family's fine w/ me and my preferences, but yeah…I guess everyone's experience is different. The next chapter will be the ending as some of you know since I stated it last chapter update. It'll be mainly about their vacation and the genre will be more or less comedy (I love writing comedy) so I hope you all look forward to it and like it as much as I liked writing it. I'll say my peace next chapter so yeah…see you all then.

Shinata-Riyoko: Glad you liked the serenity of the last chappy.

Tonker: hahaha yah…I get emotional when reading angst fics too…and is it just me or is that painful heart wrenching feeling the best feeling ever when reading a hella good angst fic?? As for Yuriko…she doesn't say much to refute the relationship and I hope that's all right.

Whyteyes: Thanks for taking the time to review…personally I don't leave reviews for most of the stories I read due to bad habits of just being too lazy to do it so thanks. More action/adventure huh? Hehe sorry I couldn't deliver much…but I hope you enjoy the rest nonetheless.

Glowie: hahaha they're like candy last chappy…as for something new…I have a plot bunny driving me nuts…and when I get it all straightened out in my head…I'll put it to paper/word and see what I can do about posting it up. XD Unfortunately Yuriko VS Haruka didn't work out so well…I couldn't make it into a big fight scene…I just couldn't…and I'm sorry. XD

Cybeleflame: yeah…I'm sad too. I'll miss these chapter updates and one sided convos :(

Heatqueen: hahaha yah…she can slap alright…hehe thanks for understanding the whole not making out thing…and yah…the fact that love has to build up through time is –thumb's up-

Questioning Destiny: heh…umm this one's next I guess.

Facing Reality: I'll try to write more…maybe one shots or something like that…but I can't for some odd reason. I've never been able to write proper one shots…these novel length fics are my specialty I guess.

Reusch: Heh..I WANNA WALK ON AIR!! XD j/k. Writing another H&M fic is very promising actually. I love these two characters completely…(they're the ones who turned me gay O.O;;) so yeah…I'll be more than glad to write a fic w/ them again…the problem's getting the ideas outta my head and into paper -.-

LitaDelacour: -Raise both hands- Huzzah for Haruka and Michiru! XD

XXXdotieXXX: Nice…I wish I had a sembreak…unfortunately I already took a pretty long sabbatical from school so that'd be asking for too much. XD glad I don't' have to put sex scenes up…can't write em…really can't… XD. Heh…simplicity…that sounds nice. The good news is…after my story you can go back to taking care of yourself and school :D.

RaginFireDesire: -Cries with you- yep yep…it's all about romance XD

James Hiwatari: hahaha I was hella amused on how you quoted me. Glad no one got overly disappointed w/ no sex scenes, but yeah. Well hope your labby makes it til you get another one XD

Dumbieox: O.O it changed from smart to dumb….heh…I didn't even notice it til now that I've only begun writing a response…I think it's cuz I'm used to seeing just the last couple letters… ieox…so I presumed it said smart instead of dumb…funny… XD semi-joking about the make out scene huh?...semi joking means u wanted it…don't lie XD. But what you say is true…it isn't my writing style…although…maybe I should try?? XD I dunno…hahaha woman…funny how you got upset w/ me calling you woman…you know…I really did think you were a girl…I dunno why…I think I just presume everyone is unless they say differently. BUT now I know better :D. hahaha yah yah yah…backing it up… sheesh…don't have a coronary… XD I'll do it tomorrow…when I'm not so tired hahaha. Sorry for the cheesiness and the last chapter should have some fanservice…hopefully it'll satiate xD but if not…I'm sorry in advance hahaha.

Thepillows93: hahaha yep…no interaction much here…cuz even I don't make out in front of my parents w/ my gf…so yeah… XD ahahaha yeah…I would run like hell outside and scream too. Those viruses suck by the way…dunno how many times I had to reformat a computer cuz of all the viruses that manage to sneak in…not for my labby tho but for the one my bro has…his desktop's shared so god knows where people go when they use it… -.-

Agent-Ayu: hahaha Kenro…is hilarious w/ his teasing and overall antics. Yeah…he can definitely use this against Haruka…we'll see how next chappy.

Urooj: TY for the kind comments. Hope you enjoy this and the last one to come.

Knightlight: It is so…I'm sorry :'( hahaha well I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Unfortunately the double date might not be written…never thought of it…but now that you mention it maybe I'll make an omake one of these days and surprise you guys even after the next chapter XD. Writing in SM section (specifically under H&M although I love reading ReiMina fics as well, but haven't really tried writing) would be a pleasure to do so again.

Thenightwithin: Hehe glad you liked the chappy and here's the next.

RachelAe: hahahaha NO SEX IN CHEAP HOTELS! XD yeah…they aren't very romantic…just the thought of what other people may have already done in that same bed…and yes I know they clean it and all but the almost nonexistent OCD side of me is saying ewww….The answer to your backing up my stuff question is easy…I'm lazy. I'm sorry for that too… XD I have an external hard drive..has about 300gb in it…and I have all my video files of anime I've dled and stuff but I just get lazy putting in new stuff and all that….so yah…it's entirely my fault when something goes wrong. I'll definitely store this up when I get everything I want edited done though…so after a few days it'll be stored in a nice safe place :D. Glad you're enjoying WoW and once again don't hesitate to ask me any questions or if you need my help running an instance or questing. You're basically in smolderthorn realm because of me and I don't want you to feel as if you're wasting your time in it. As for my age…hehe the high school stories were flash backs when I was in high school. I'm turning 22 in a couple days actually…hmm…I guess I'll make the last chapter update special by updating it on my bday XD.

Petiyaka: hahah future mother-in-law is right. You'll see her more in the next chappy as well as Kenro's dorkiness and Akira's exasperation.


	18. The SoCalled Vacation

Chapter 18: The So-Called Vacation

The warm breeze played against her skin softly, mussing her long aqua curls away from her face. The soft scent of the ocean wafted in her nose and she could only smile in content, happy that her problems seemed an ocean away. Technically they were, but she didn't think of it now. She was glad everything went right…that her parents accepted her decision and she and the most important person to her were allowed this bit of calm. Glancing to her right, she smiled at the cute picture that was Haruka.

They were both lying on separate beach chairs, the ocean waters tossing back and forth in front of them and a lone big umbrella guarding them from the hot sun. If only Japan's weather was this nice this time of year she wouldn't have left the country… but the torrential downpours she's been experiencing was enough to last her the year.

Unlike her, Haruka was sound asleep. Michiru loved the unguarded look in her face—she's doesn't see it often. It might've come from her constant training ever since she was a child or just from her personality, but Haruka had the most constantly vigilant face she's ever witnessed. Her eyes were always looking around for anything remotely close to suspicious, her body tense and poised, ready for whatever action she needed to take. The smaller girl loved that protective side of Haruka too, noting with a smile how she towered over the pizza boy some nights back at the hotel, but the calm serenity on her face right now was a sight not a lot has seen.

Her eyebrows hitched at the thought of another _woman_ possibly seeing this side of Haruka before.

_I need to talk to her about that…_

Her insecurities flared even more as two women in very exposing bikinis walked by them, closer to where Haruka lay, and gave a flirtatious laugh at the sight of the blonde. Unlike her who was wearing a two piece bikini like every other girl in the beach, Haruka would _not_ under any circumstances wear anything exposing. Instead, she was wearing bleached board shorts with her customary white polo shirt.

Michiru stared daggers at the retreating girls and looked back at a still sleeping Haruka. She reached out and brushed her cheeks affectionately, making the blonde's eyes open slowly.

"Hmm?" she asked rather cutely and Michiru just had to reach her body out and kiss her.

Haruka gave a small amused smile. "What was that for?"

"Just trying to reassert my possession."

The blonde's eyes widened a little as Michiru's eyes flickered to the two passerbies earlier. "Hmm… if you're allowed to do that, then I can go overprotective mode on any guy that looks at you then right?"

Michiru giggled and brushed the blonde's silky strands back. "But that requires pummeling Ruka. _I _don't do anything physical—

"Else there'd be tons of girls on the ground by now huh?" the other quipped back with a smirk.

"What can I say? You're rather handsome… Do you realize that half of the class basically turned into puddle the first day you arrived in Mugen?"

"Did you turn into puddle?"

The violinist laughed. "No, I was too mad about the situation."

Haruka smiled at her, a small gleam in her green eyes. "Let's not get started about the living arrangements…which I have to ask… who's place when we get back…yours or mine?"

Michiru gave a seductive smile and stood up from her beach chair only to straddle a surprised blonde. She tucked a loose strand of aqua curls behind her ear and inwardly smirked at the blush creeping quickly from Haruka's neck to her face. "Ara, I wonder if that really matters in the end…"

Haruka coughed and before she could say anything about the matter, Michiru dipped towards her and initiated a deep kiss. She moaned inadvertently, hugging the smaller woman closer to her.

Thirty feet away sported in heavy scuba gear, Kenro, Akira, and Yuriko looked with smirking, horrified, or embarrassed expressions.

"See Yuriko?? What did I tell you??" Kenro exclaimed, inwardly rooting his surrogate daughter to keep going all the while clicking the capture button on his camera phone. "Oh, and great idea for these new cameras that look like phones, but actually take very detailed photographs, Akira. It'll be a big hit when it comes out on our spyware line."

"What we're doing is very wrong," Akira stated, looking around at anyone, but the two distracted teens. "This is expected! They're kissing, so what? We kissed…we made out!"

"Yeah, but look at the way—

"Kenro! Let's go back to the hotel room before we get caught. Do you realize how mad they'll get when they see us here?? When Kenro, not if. I think you really do want Haruka-chan to emancipate you!"

His best friend looked back at him, a sad puppy dog face etched all over his features.

Akira sighed loudly and smiled at the two teens oblivious to everyone else. "Le—let's go grab a bite to eat… I'm hungry. As…as you can tell Yuriko… Haruka-chan is…not like a dog in heat as Kenro so graphically put it. If anything…our daughter—

"Alright! Alright!" Yuriko cried. She wondered briefly if other parents were this concerned for their kids when she knew it was perfectly normal. "I'm hungry too… We've been here for three days and this is the most that I've seen them do." She slapped Kenro after saying this receiving a yelp from her older friend. "You baited me and you know it!"

He gave a smirk and got up, looking at the two teens who were still very much busy. After pocketing the camera, he gave a small sigh and nodded. "Okay, fine. Let's go eat…"

O-----O

For some odd reason, she felt very uneasy. The feeling started the day after they arrived in the sandy beaches of Hawaii and hadn't ceased since then. She knew someone was following them, but unlike Yuka Toro who was very much very distinguishable and obvious, this one was a little sneakier, not to mention that everyone was basically a tourist so she couldn't point out anyone beyond suspicious.

Of course, she did not tell this to Michiru. She didn't want her to get flustered or worry anymore than she already has.

"Haruka?"

She pushed herself out of her thoughts and glanced at the beautiful girl in front of her, her alabaster skin shining softly by the dim restaurant lights. She smiled at her and gave a questioning look.

"You seem out of it. Is there something the matter?" Haruka shook her head until Michiru continued, "You feel someone is following us too, ne?"

She looked at the smaller girl in surprise who just smiled back at her serenely.

"You seem to underestimate me. You do realize that beyond Yuka-san, I have detected all of the bodyguards Otou-san had sent to look after me right?" Haruka gave an impressed look and bowed her head shortly, causing the other girl to laugh lightly. "So what do you propose we do about it, commander?"

"Hmm…" Haruka murmured and looked at the bright moon reflected on the beach's waters. "The only real problem is trying to figure out who it is out of all these people who's following us."

Michiru looked around the restaurant at happy faces of tourists, dancing hula girls and boys, and serving waiters as their own arrived to serve their dinner. Haruka sighed loudly, annoyed that this just had to happen during their vacation… the very first one no less. The smaller girl across from her gave a comforting smile as she they started their luau style dinner.

"Good place. Nice change of scene," she stated as she looked around at the happy atmosphere.

Michiru nodded, glad that she was the one who came up with the idea.

For the majority of the time they've been in their vacation, they had been staying in the main island of Hawaii in the beaches near the hotel they were currently staying in. This provoked Michiru to call for a change of scene, albeit a small one. They were now currently staying in one of the richer resorts that gave them their own villas, moving earlier in the afternoon after a quick lunch so they could survey the area before sunset.

Another reason why she did this was because of their earlier conversation. Like Haruka she's been feeling distinctly followed for the past days and that watched feeling had left as soon as they arrived on the small island. Whoever it was that was following them, she only felt annoyance from it, not dread and that led her to believe that it might be her father's doing… although why he would do it when Haruka was with her was beyond her.

As soon as she was able to put food in her mouth a rush of voices streamed into her ears that did _not_ make her at the least bit happy.

"See? This is what we should've done in the first place…have our own vacation! Not following the kids around like some mistrusting parents… Yuriko I still can't believe you let yourself be baited by Kenro like that!"

"Well Kenro always did have a way with words… I remember him on the debate team in high school. No one wanted to speak against him."

"I think it's more because everyone was scared of me than my debate skills."

"Well I'm glad we got out of their way nonetheless. Imagine the looks on their faces if we suddenly just meet up because we were using the same hotel as they were. Now if we can only get back before they do."

"This place is pretty nice… Makes me not wanna leave."

The two teens stared at each other flabbergasted. Michiru shook her head in disbelief and Haruka did the same, only in exasperation.

"They didn't…" the blonde stated with incredulity.

Michiru sighed, rolling her eyes in the process. "They did…"

Haruka looked behind her girlfriend to a table a few feet away and saw the sight she was dreading. Her surrogate father, Akira, and Yuriko were seated in one of the tables, ordering their dinner. The only reason the three hadn't spotted the two of them yet was because of their strategic location where the lights were very dim to provide a more romantic and private atmosphere. The blonde was about to go up to give them a piece of her mind when the smaller girl reached her hands out to touch hers. She looked at her questioningly, wondering why Michiru hadn't gone up and began yelling at her parents yet when a sadistic and very sexy smile on her face made her stop thinking altogether. Haruka smirked at her and sat back down before her knees gave up on her.

"What's on your mind?"

"Well they're obviously here because they think we'll be up to something unbecoming of two teenagers left alone when we could've done that already, so… why don't we give them a show?"

Haruka's eyes widened at the playful smile on Michiru's face.

"Okay, what do I do?"

"Nothing," the violinist replied simply. "All you have to do is be the cute girlfriend that you already are."

Haruka smiled at her, happy beyond everything that she chose her for that title. "Okay, I'm game."

Michiru giggled in amusement and instructed, "Their arrival here seems, to me, like an accident so we'll have to make sure that they realize we're here as well. In the middle of dinner I'll go to… the restroom or something and walk near enough so at least one of them spots me. I'll act like I'm talking to someone in your phone and as I near their table, I'll say something…unbecoming… which will trigger them to follow us all the way to our villa after dinner. At that point in time, we should be able to do something so outrageous that it'll force them to come out of their hiding spots."

"And what outrageous thing can we pull out without them knowing that we acknowledge them here?"

"Make out…heavily."

Haruka blushed at the statement as Michiru just looked at her amused. Just the thought of feeling her soft skin against her palm—

"Haruka, wait 'til after dinner," the violinist laughed lightly, noting the glazed look on her lover's face.

The blonde looked back at her in surprise, her face growing hotter by the second. "Can't help it if you're beautiful…" she muttered under breath and looked away, shy at her words.

Michiru's only reply was another soft laugh, reaching out to brush her face affectionately. For the past couple of days, both of them have given themselves enough self-restraint. Both have been sharing one hotel, one room, and one bed, but neither wanted to go any further than just casual kisses and soft touches. It was still too soon and although both highly believed that they would not be with anyone else but one another, both were also willing to wait for the right moment because of that.

"Love you Ruka," the violinist said with a smile.

The taller girl smiled widely and leaned over the table, kissing those soft, inviting lips once again.

Dinner was a casual affair in which both, too amused at what they were planning on doing kept mostly to themselves. Nearing the end of it, Michiru reached out to get Haruka's phone, at which point, the latter took out the sim card in case someone called in the middle of Michiru's acting job and blew their plan and afterwards handed it to her.

"I'll be back. Get ready to leave," the smaller girl instructed, a sly smile upon her face. "We can play this game too, ne Haruka?"

Haruka only smirked back. "Of course. We aren't their kids for nothing." Michiru laughed, the sweet sound reaching the blonde's ears.

Michiru picked up the phone to her ear and gave Haruka devious smirk. "Hello? Hokuto-chan, hi!"

Haruka almost laughed. The violinist proceeded to stand up from her table and start walking to the general direction of her parents and godparent's table, looking straight ahead and seemingly absorbed in a nonexistent conversation.

"Yes, actually we're doing fine. The weather's very nice. I wish Japan was like this more often than blazing hot or stormy cold." She was about six feet away from her parent's table when Yuriko of all people noticed her existence and shook Kenro and Akira who were both beside her.

They looked at her momentarily and then to a walking Michiru, their eyes widening at the mere coincidence that of all places, they were in the place that they decided to go to, to let the kids finally have their promised vacation. Kenro looked from across the room to see her surrogate daughter looking at Michiru and then turning her attention to the beautiful moonlit ocean outside.

"Actually Haruka and I changed hotels…we were getting the distinct feeling that someone was following us. I have a feeling my father sent some of his men to look after us in case something happens but…" A sigh came out of his daughter's lips as Akira's eyes widened. He knew the kids would find out… but it was obvious they didn't know they were here…else both teens would have gone up by now and gave him a piece of their mind. "Anyway… the villa's very romantic. I'm thinking of… I feel like it's too early still, but I do love her Hokuto-chan… Yeah…I really feel like… I'm ready. I know she is too and with our parents gone and no one to stop us, you know. Why not?"

All three parents' eyes and mouths widened simultaneously at the violinist's bold statement, not believing what she was actually saying.

She laughed melodiously, looking at her cell phone in amusement. "Protection? Well I don't think that's really necessary. We're both… women…not to mention virgins."

"Oh-my—

Akira literally shoved his palm on his wife's mouth as Michiru finally passed by them, still laughing lightly and still very much seemingly ignorant to their existence. When she was finally out of earshot, Yuriko looked at her husband in utter dismay.

"Akira, you know it's too early!"

Akira shook his head. "We…shouldn't have known that. This…Th—this is all wrong! Just…just let the kids be! If they're going to have…sex—

"What kind of a father are you??" his wife exclaimed. "I do _not_ know a single parent who would just let their daughter go and have sex when they know it's going to happen!"

Akira opened his mouth only to close it again, completely confused as to what to say. "She won't get pregnant!"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

Why Haruka did not hear his wife scream when everyone in the restaurant practically turned their heads to their table was beyond him. He put his index finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet as everyone else resumed their dinner.

"We need to stop them."

Akira shook his head. "They're mature—

"Sexually driven _teenagers_—

"Who has proven to us that they can take care of themselves."

"That is not the point here Akira and you know it. It's much, _much _too early."

"I feel like we should let them decide that for themselves."

"Three days into their actual relationship and they're having sex?? I do not call that mature. I call it hormones at its peak…and Kenro, why are you so quiet??"

Both spouses turned to see their quiet friend who only just came out of his reverie.

"Aren't you at all worried about the outcome of this decision? And yes…I am more than aware that they can't get pregnant… but that is _not _the point. It's too early and they're too young to be engaging in such… x rated activities."

Kenro sighed slowly and finally opted to shrugging. "I…don't know what to do…"

Akira and Yuriko looked at him in surprise, clearly thinking that he would want to go, follow, and stop them from doing the deed… or have them keep going… either way worked in Kenro's universe.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin and placed it over his uneaten food, all appetite ebbing away. "I think… we should…"

He didn't finish his sentence when he noticed his goddaughter coming back from the restroom, walking to her table in an excited hurry. All three witnessed her literally pulling a mildly surprised Haruka from the table as the latter dropped a handful of bills for their dinner. The aqua haired girl said something which caused the other to blush a tremendous shade of scarlet and this time, both of them hurried out of the restaurant.

"Follow them," Kenro replied, no longer thinking about it.

Husband and wife only reached into their wallets/purses to take out money for the food and after dropping enough to pay for possibly the entire restaurant, all three fled out, following the teenagers quietly.

O-----O

It had worked. Of course it did. Now with Haruka's hands clasped in hers, all they needed to do was put on a relatively easy show…considering that in reality, they _were _two very hormone driven teenagers with the only exception that they had self control…something that their parents didn't think was possible for an adolescent to have.

They were nearing the villa, happy that it was only a short walk away from the restaurant and although they didn't hear or see their parents behind them, both knew they were all there…waiting for something to happen.

As they got to the walkway going to the front door, Michiru slipped her hand in the back of Haruka's shirt, feeling her soft skin. They looked at one another seriously, but in their eyes held the twinkle of mischief that only they could see clearly in the dark moonlight.

With no words said, just a silent look of apology for the situation not being genuine, Haruka reached down and pulled the smaller woman into a rough kiss. A yearning came out from within her, but she shut it up, all the while kissing the violinist, returning the kiss in the same fervor. Soft hands rubbed the small of her back, fingernails digging from time to time causing her to wish that they had no spectators and that although it was planned, they knew soon, that they wanted this.

They broke from the kiss in deep breaths as Michiru looked up to see her pained expression.

"Just wait a little while longer, k?" she whispered and began kissing her on her neck, violinist hands tugging her shirt buttons lose while her own began untying the ribbon holding the dress together.

Just when they both thought that they would reach breaking point…

"ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU SHOULD BE A LITTLE ASHAMED ! I MEAN, COME ON! IT'S ONLY BEEN THREE DAYS! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY…SELF-RESTRAINT??"

_Finally…_

All activities stopped, but they didn't turn their heads to a little bush ten feet away from them and the front door of their villa. Instead, both teenagers looked at each other in mild amusement, smirks gracing their faces and each one without word began retying the bow to a ribbon or buttoning the shirt back together.

"Ara… it didn't take that long," Michiru quipped, still looking at her girlfriend's wide smile as her fingers got the last button in place. She smoothed over some wrinkles on Haruka's shoulder areas and hugged her close.

"We should've betted who'd last longer. Us or them…" the blonde replied with a laugh and hugged her back.

Together, they looked back behind them to three unsuspecting parents, Kenro looking highly surprised since he was the one who yelled in the night sky so loudly, while the Kaiohs from beside him only looked at one another in heavy embarrassment.

"Would you like to come in?" Michiru asked, fishing for the villa keycard in her purse that she had haphazardly thrown in "the heat of the moment." "Maybe have some tea or coffee. Espionage is a very hard job after all."

Akira coughed loudly. "I…I think we'll actually…uhh…go to our own villa now."

"It's really quite late…" Yuriko replied, nodding in agreement to her husband's idea.

"Hmm," Michiru murmured. "But aren't you a little curious as to whether or not we'll continue our activity inside? ….having finally gotten rid of all of you and all."

"We'll take your word for it," Kenro replied and began walking backwards, away from both teens.

Both gave their nicest smile to the three old friends, opened the villa door, and closed it behind them. Inside, the two teens couldn't suppress the laughter from the episode outside.

"Of all people, I didn't think Kenro Oji-san would be the one to yell something."

Haruka nodded in agreement. "I was actually thinking your mother would."

"On the contrary…she was quite speechless wasn't she?"

The blonde nodded vigorously. "She was."

Michiru grinned and leaned her head on the broad shoulders before her as Haruka hugged her, noting her tired features. "Let's go to bed and hang out with them tomorrow?"

The smaller girl nodded looking up at an understanding face. "Thank you…for not getting mad. They sort of blew our vacation…"

Haruka merely shrugged. "I had a feeling Kenro-san would do something. It's suspected…knowing his personality all these years."

Laughter rose from Michiru's lips as she maintained eye contact with the tall girl. A serious expression suddenly overtook her as she stated in a declaration, "I want to know all of you… but let's wait until we know we're truly ready for it, okay?"

Haruka dipped down and kissed her softly. "That goes without being said."

With that, Michiru led Haruka to the upstairs part of the villa to their bedroom.

"So, you think they'll be staying for as long as we are?" Haruka asked getting into the bed soon after they got out of their clothes and into nightwear.

"Probably. We haven't gone on a vacation for a while so they'll probably want to cherish this before going home," Michiru answered getting into the bed and hugging the taller girl next to her.

They laid on the bed, the waves of the beach beside them lulling them slowly to sleep. Suddenly, a ring tone blared the evening silence, making Haruka grunt and grab her phone from the table next to her side of the bed.

"Kenro-san, this better be good…" she grunted and received a kiss from an amused violinist next to her.

"Sorry to be a bother Haruka-chan, but the married couple just wanted me to let you and Michiru-chan know that they've begun planning the whole vacation to make it up to you. If you ask me I think they're just making a safety precaution in case you two really start…yeah… so if you have anything against it, don't kill the messenger. Bye! See you bright and early tomorrow!"

Haruka's mouth widened in disbelief as the phone hung itself up. Michiru looked on, a big smile on her face as she pushed Haruka back down on the bed. She sighed loudly and rested her head in her pillow.

"Love you," Michiru whispered and kissed her softly.

"Love you too," Haruka grunted and glanced at the amused look playing on her girlfriend's face. "And everything that goes with loving you."

"Including dorky parents?"

"If you can accept mine, it'd be ridiculous if I can't accept yours."

Michiru laughed and nodded. "Don't worry they won't be able to stop us forever."

"I'm gonna die a virgin!!" Haruka cried melodramatically.

"Not if I can help it," Michiru muttered playfully and got up on top of an unsuspecting blonde.

Haruka looked up at her with a smirk. "What happened to waiting?"

"We have dorky parents. We might really _have _to wait forever."

The blonde laughed loudly as Michiru joined her, laying on top of her as she did so.

"I love you."

"I thought we already went over this?" Michiru playfully slapped her, making her grasp her shoulder. "Okay! Okay! I love you too…"

"Don't say it in an exasperated manner!"

"Gah…I-love-you-too—

"That one was robotic!"

Haruka laughed and wrestled the smaller girl so that she was on top of her, silky aqua curls lying all over the pillows making her look extremely beautiful in the moonlight. "I love you too."

Michiru sighed happily and wrapped her arms around the taller girl's waist. They shared a brief kiss before the blonde turned the lights off completely.

-Fin-

OMAKE (Dedicated to Haruka's Knight who gave me the idea for it):

_What the hell?_ Haruka gave the ogling man who just passed them by a mean look as Michiru gave him a bewildered one.

"How many is that now?" the violinist asked.

Haruka frowned. "I don't know…probably the fifteenth one since we came inside the museum."

They looked at each other momentarily in confusion and gave each other a once over.

"Are you sure I don't have food in my face or something?" the blonde asked and swiped her left hand over her face just in case.

"You look fine Haruka. Are you sure _I_ don't have anything in my face?"

The taller girl reached down to her and gave her a small peck. "You look fine too," she stated and gave a boyish grin.

"The nerve!"

Their attention swiped to a passing older woman who was literally dragging her ten year old daughter, all the while keeping her hands over the small girl's eyes. She looked at them with a mix of disgust and appall before speed walking as far away in the opposite direction as possible.

"What the hell is going on?" Haruka now voiced. "Do I look girlier than usual…is that it?"

Michiru gave her a once over. She was wearing her usual attire: navy blue short sleeved polo and tan slacks.

"Well if that is the problem, they need to get over it." She gave a little smile and clasped on the blonde's hand tighter.

In front of them, merely three feet away, Kenro looked over his shoulders and smirked. "Having fun kids?"

Haruka scowled at him as Michiru gave an amused smile. They didn't have a say in this museum visit. Apparently Kenro was not joking the night before in saying that Akira and Yuriko had planned their entire trip so here they were in Hawaii State Art Museum, Haruka bored to tears and Michiru somewhat curious and satiated by all the art works before them.

"DUDE! I WISH YOU WERE MY DAD!" A girl about as old as both teens yelled as she passed by Kenro less than a minute later.

The older man gave a wide smirk and gave her a high five. "If he loves you so much, he'll understand," he cryptically stated in clear English.

As the girl passed them, she gave a wide smile and stated, "I wish I were either of you…"

Haruka gave her a face etched with confusion as Michiru could only laugh nervously.

"Old man, what's going on?" the blonde asked when the stranger finally went out of earshot.

His back stayed facing them, walking only a foot or two away from the busy spouses, and gave a casual shrug.

Not a minute passed and another stranger, a man about Kenro's age this time, stared at him briefly before asking, "And you're okay with that?"

Kenro gave a boyish grin. "Would u rather have an accidental grandchild?" he retorted almost as quickly.

The man looked like he was debating with himself about this before nodding in agreement and walking away, but not before eyeing the two teens yet again.

"Oh my god…what the hell is going on?" Haruka asked in exasperation. She was about to pull her hair out of her head from the build up of frustration.

Michiru leaned into her and rubbed her cheeks affectionately. "Don't mind them…just enjoy yourself…although it's a little hard since we're in a museum of all places…"

The taller girl sighed heavily as another person came by and ogled at them yet again. "Okay, that's it. I've had enough…"

She loosened away from the warm embrace and strode quickly to her surrogate father. In no less than five seconds they were standing side by side and FINALLY, Haruka noticed why random people have been giving her random looks and words since they met up with their parents.

"You like it?" Kenro grinned widely. "I had it custom made for the occasion."

He was wearing a black shirt and in bold golden yellow words, the sentence, "My Daughter is Out of the Closet. Is Yours?" was written along the front of it.

Haruka could only look at him with wide eyes as Yuriko looked back at her. "Yes, he didn't want to leave the house not wearing it. Sorry Haruka-chan, not a lot can do much when Kenro's already made up his mind on something."

Although the blonde loved the fact that Michiru's mother had begun calling her much less formally, she growled, "You should've tied him up and kept him locked in the villa…"

Michiru finally walked beside her and gave the shirt an amused glance. "Oji-san…" she stated exasperatedly.

"What??" Kenro asked in feigned innocence. "It's not as bad as Akira's!"

The two teens looked towards the elder male Kaioh as he turned towards them. He gave them the same boyish smile Kenro had been sporting all the while pointing at his white shirt that stated in black letters, "A larger than life trip to Hawaii for five: $100,000. The small expenses to treat your best friend's kid as well as your own: Another $100,000 unless you say otherwise and it becomes much more. Knowing that neither your best friend's kid nor your kid won't accidentally give you a grandchild since they hooked up: PRICELESS."

"That really is worse than Oji-san's…" Michiru stated.

"Yeah…but there's so much written in such a small shirt that people probably can't read it properly…thank god…" Haruka quipped.

Both elder males gave a gruff laugh as they walked side by side, Yuriko trailing behind with the kids.

"Isn't there anything you can do Okaa-san?" the violinist asked and clasped Haruka's hands in hers yet again.

"Gah…well I guess this is the price you pay for having overly understanding parents…" the blonde grunted from beside her.

Yuriko laughed and gave the blonde a pat in the back. Another man was about to ogle at them when Haruka simply gave him her killer face. He stared wide eyed at her for only a second before skittering nervously away.

"Wow, that was highly effective…" Yuriko stated while looking back at the already running man. "We can definitely use you later in our shopping expedition, ne Michi-chan."

Michiru gave a wide smile as Haruka flittered nervously. "I think…I'm going to hang out with my superiors…"

And before either Kaioh could say something, she had already dashed towards the two men because really…she'd rather spend a day with the two worst dressed men in Hawaii with people ogling at her than carry shopping bags all over the island and the small chance of the mother and daughter playing dress up with her. A shiver ran up her spine.

"Finally came to the good side eh?" Kenro laughed and swung his arms over her shoulders.

Haruka nodded. "It's either you or shopping…I'll take my chances with you…"

AN: And thus…the story's ended. D'X Hope everyone enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed putting it up and reading your input. When I first put it up I thought a lot of people would hate the fact that there's too much OC's. I'm only glad that not only did many get used to them, but some people actually stated liking them (Kenro at least). XD A lot is asking whether or not I should make a new story or a sequel to this one. One last poll for the road? I already know I'm not done w/ SM universe…definitely still w/ H&M cuz this pairing is the ultimate pairing ever in my eyes so…if/when I do get back to writing…how many would like a new story VS a sequel to this one? You guys are basically my "fanbase" (hahaha) so I want your input on it. I already have a plot bunny for both instances…so whichever you decide I'll make a story from it :D. As promised I updated on my bday -.- (so not happy that I'm getting damn older) so…present me w/ presents in the form of reviews :D. Hahaha I'm kidding…it's always up to u guys to do so. Thanks to all those who's taken a portion of their lives to read this and thanks to all those who have reviewed…it's been great. One last one sided convo )':

Glowie: Heh glad you liked how accepting the parents were. Their espionage skills are good…unfortunately their luck isn't any better.

gotToluvAnime: XD I love it when people quote me. Glad you like Kenro…as I said before, he's very easy to write about.

Heatqueen: Happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading :)

Tonker: hehe…yeah I've had my share of accepting/unaccepting parents stories. I like 'em being accepting…don't like forced drama that much. And Yuriko's obsession as you can tell is only fueled by Kenro's dorkiness.

Miriam sarbu: XD I also draw in my spare time and I was actually thinking of doing a manga w/ this as the main story…unfortunately I don't draw H&M that well…like it's ok, but not as good as half that's out there so…yah…I might try it one of these days, but probably just on the drawing board. Huzzah for pureness XD

DreamingOfMyGirl: hahahah the dog in heat comment…there's not an instance in which I read that and not crack up…and I read my stories A HELLUVALOT… so yah… XD. I wouldda liked seeing that though…someone sitting in a relatively silent library all of the sudden cackling XD. Unfortunately, they don't "do the deed" in this story…I have no clue if I ever will…sex scenes bother me XD. Watching it is already hard enough…being the one to fuel it…:L dunno… XD

Knightlight: hehe glad you liked the ending and understood why the parents were understanding of the situation. Kenro is a gem with his picture taking skills.

Hunter007:D thanks for understanding. Nope, not my last H&M story, but we'll see where I'll go from the input I get.

Morte d'Amour: O.O –clap clap- I personally LOVE sitting in one spot for hours reading a story. If it's an especially good one I tend to look at the scrollbar and pray that it'll be longer each time too XD. As for the mountain of coursework O.O;; GET TO IT!! I share the sentiment though…I hate taking a "small break" from my work only to get distracted and not want to go back to it afterwards -.-

Reusch: hahaha walking on sunshine…reminds me of a song…but I can't point which specific one out at the moment. I love Yuriko's hysteria concerning their relationship. Add Kenro's baiting and well…this chapter got produced so XD. Thanks for the wonderful comments and for reviewing after every chapter. The kind words never got old and I thank you for being patient with me.

LitaDelacour: I love Kenro too… I wish my dad was like that… XD. Unfortunately for them, it's not going to be the great sabbatical they thought it would be.

Agent-Ayu: hahaha THIS is how Haruka and Michiru'll react from seeing their parents XD.

RaginFireDesire: Not just two unsupervised 17 year olds…two VERY unsupervised 17 year olds…hahahah. I love Kenro's choice of words. –sigh- we can only imagine what Yuriko was thinking when Kenro said that. It was enough to bait her that's for sure.

ChieH: I personally love that line. Kenro's such a real work… XD Glad you enjoyed the fic and I hope to write something regarding what you're asking soon too. :D

XXXdotieXXX: XD thanks for the advanced greeting…one year older, but none the wiser…unfortunately XD. O.O the story's made you cry huh? I dunno if I should be happy or sorry XD. Should I make a sequel? You tell me… XD

Whyteyes: Heh…amazing huh? Well thank you –bow- for the wonderful comment. Glad I satiated the action/adventure enough and I'm just like you when I review. I tend to leave hella long reviews…I ramble…like crazy. And then when I leave a novel sized review I'm like…crap…I did it again…this is why I don't review… XD

Cybeleflame: Heh…hmmm I feel like I should add that in the sequel…if anything XD.

Thepillows93: hahaha I get too lazy to log in sometimes too…that's why in every chance I get I just say keep me logged in for 3 days…in case I get too lazy to do it tomorrow or the next time I visit ffn. :( I'm sorry they cut of your review…this site can be so lame sometimes… I love Kenro too! And thank you for taking the time to read. Glad it was worth it.

Petiyaka: hahaha yes…more craziness. That's what their parents are all about.

MilenaOne: hehe yay! I have an original style! Woot woot! Yeah…I'm sad too…I'm gonna miss reviews XD. Thanks for keeping up with me for this long and I'm more than honored to have my fic be one of your favs.

Haruka-Michiru: zomg!! PEOPLE!!! YOU MUST DO YOUR SCHOOLWORK FIRST!! I INSIST!...this'll be here when you get back…I promise. If it's not…it's ffn's fault cuz I definitely posted it up XD.

Ale: Thanks. Hope you enjoy the final chapter of it too.

Ami Meitsu: Thanks for the kind words. Hope you like content of the rest of the story.

Ja-fall2pieces: Thank you for the wonderful comments in your last reviews. I truly appreciated them and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Haruka's Knight: As I said before…you came up with the idea for the t-shirt…so the omake is dedicated to you. Thanks for reading the story, for your general input, and I'm glad it brightened your mood somewhat when you were a little down. Take care of yourself at work (no more ladder/bleach/anything accidents) XD and I'll see you when I write my next fic…hopefully.

RachelAe: I also would like to thank you personally for reading the story. If anything send me a tell in WoW and we'll talk there. Hope to see you log in again soon, but if you personally like your human pally better don't let me stop you from lvling him XD. Thanks for the input and the kind words.

Smartieox: Hmm your username changed to dumbieox, but I'm so used to just calling you smartie so I'll leave my last one sided convo in pen name smartie for that reason. Thanks for the editing jobs, the good laughs, and the overall heart warming comments. I actually think I'm going to miss bickering w/ you…although if I do come out w/ another H&M story you'll probably make me regret saying that so…yeah… :) Thanks for everything. Hope you enjoyed it.

-BOW- It's been a blast. Thank you for having me.


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